


The Secret of a Lost Fairy: Part 2

by LittlestBook



Series: The Secret of a Lost Fairy [2]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alfea (Winx Club), Alternate Universe - Magical Girls, Crossover, F/M, Fairies, Fantasy, Hetalia, Hetalia Crossover, Magical Girls, Modern Era, Winx Club AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:00:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 350,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25438828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittlestBook/pseuds/LittlestBook
Summary: In the span of a year, Natalya Arlovskaya (Belarus) has managed to find out who she truly is - a lost Princess by the name of "Natasha Braginskaya" from the deceased planet Sparx, as well as a future guardian fairy of the dragon flame and heart of ice. With about to enter her second year as a fairy at Lenfia College, she along with her friends Monika, Tatyana, Mei, and Florentyna (Fem!Germany, Lithuania, Taiwan, Poland), are all expecting to have a normal second year with no interruptions now that the descendants of the ancestral witches were taken care of. However, their adventure begins upon finding a young woman (APH Hungary) unconscious outside of Lenfia's campus. As she awakens under their group's care, she warns them of a demon who has plans on taking over the magic dimension.This Demon doing everything in his power to make sure no one can stop him from accomplishing his mission.Part 1: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23466742Part 3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28251042
Relationships: America & Belarus (Hetalia), America/Belarus (Hetalia), Hungary & Prussia (Hetalia), Lithuania/Poland (Hetalia)
Series: The Secret of a Lost Fairy [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2069547
Kudos: 4





	1. Prologue

Entering inside the cave, a young woman stands there with fear built-up on her face. Dark, negative energy surrounded the realm to the point where she couldn’t feel a connection to her power. 

As she looks up, she is greeted to the sight of stone and rock that has taken into the shape of a castle. On the sides, waterfalls are streaming down with black water almost similar to a swamp while the smell that came from the pooling river stream below filled her nostrils.

Everyone had warned her for going to such a place on her own. A fairy with minimal training - there was the likelihood that she wouldn’t make it out alive. 

No one ever did. It was assumed that most were dead after the many cases of magical beings disappearing due to not only the negative magic…

…But by the hands of the Dark Lord himself being angered at intruders of light breaking in.

The woman takes in a sigh as she begins walking forward now. She was on a mission and wouldn’t leave without the lights of her life. The lights that had been taken in possession by the dark figure himself and trapped under him

The lights of innocent magical beings that never had done any harm, other than providing happiness and love in the magic dimension.

She looked up upon to examine just how large the castle was. In feet, it had to be over a thousand. It was impossible to climb up manually through feet and hands unless a person were to have amazing strength. 

With the additional monsters of decay surrounding the castle as well, it was the only way she would be able to sneak in without getting caught.

Elizabeta kept her eyes closed as she took in a deep breath, knowing how she would be able to climb up. 

“ _Charmix.”_

Under her breath, she whispered the one word to connect her magic to her heart. All she had done was taken one step forward, where the traveling attire she had been wearing had glowed with light to be replaced with another form.

Around her bust, a sparkling green sash ran down her chest as it wrapped around her bust and waist; connecting to the green skirt that had reached down to the middle of her thigh. Her ankle-length boots matched in color and radiated in sparkling, positive energy; all while her brown locks of hair had grown an inch and curled at the ends. In her hair, barrettes in the shape of pink roses had pinned her hair halfway back as her bangs fell down her face.

Behind her, a pair of sparkling wings with small indents on the edges glow with power. 

She looked up, now jumping into the air as she began to fly herself up the shape of the castle. The dark energy was fierce against her magic; almost wanting to make her detransform then and there from how powerful it was. 

All she had to do was get to the balcony at the top. Then, she would be able to continue on foot.

She maintained her energy to reach that top without getting caught. On occasion, she would hide in a corner when passing an energy creature, before continuing her journey up. It was once she had made it to the top, she dropped to the ground and panted softly as her entire fairy form had vanished then and there.

She had to hurry now. If she was going to get out of there safely without getting caught, she had to preserve her magical energy as long as she could.

Elizabeta wiped the sweat off her forehead as she panted softly to herself. To catch her breath, she had reached into her bag and pulled out a bottle of water; quickly drinking from it before putting it back in place and forcing herself up.

She was steady with taking her footsteps when climbing through a glass-less window from the balcony to be greeted to the sight of a hallway. The hallway was dark, but had enough light through torches to help her travel through. 

However, as she traveled through the corridor of the castle, she kept her awareness on guard to see if she would be able to find her lights or be prepared for a possible battle with a creature of darkness.

Four rooms away from where she stood, Elizabeta could feel her heart beginning to build up with hope hearing what sounded like chattering from high-pitched voices.

“ _We’re too low on power, we won’t have enough magic to fight against the Dark Lord!”_

_“Actually, we might not need magic at all.”_

_“What the heck is that supposed to mean!?”_

_“Welllll…. I read about this article in the Pixie Post by Magix before we got captured, and it was all about using psychology to beat a villain! Like, you can understand WHY they’re evil and talking with them, instead of fighting.”_

_“Oh, I got it! The Dark Lord captured us because he’s evil from being lonely! Maybe he needs to fall in love.”_

_“EW! That’s so gross!”_

The light was growing more and more as she had crept closer to it. Elizabeta could hear it - the little lights. It had to be them - there was no way that the Dark Lord of the castle wouldn’t have tried to imitate them. Though as she began sprinting now to the door, the footsteps were heard.

“ _I think I hear someone coming!”_

Fear came from the Pixies that had been sitting in small cages connected by a magical barrier. 

Though when hearing these words, Elizabeta slowly opened the door to feel relief fill her expression upon noticing that it wasn’t any trick. 

It was really them. 

She closed the door behind her; using a little amount of her magical energy to form what looked like a lock made out of gel to make sure no one could get in.

The sounds of panicked shrieking came from the cages as Elizabeta turned herself around and slowly began to approach them. Though as she had come into the light of the barrier, she had found herself begin to tear up in relief seeing that her little lights were okay.

“Hey hey—“ Elizabeta begun; lowering herself down to allow for them to see who she was, “It’s me.”

“Princess Elizabeta?” A Pixie with maroon colored hair had flown up to the cage; gasping loudly upon recognizing the brunette with green eyes looking down at them, “Oh, it is you!”

“Are you guys okay?” Elizabeta continued, taking note of the magical barrier that had them trapped inside, “This barrier… I can feel this negative energy from it…”

“We’re losing all of our powers!” Another Pixie whose hair was in pigtails had flown up to the bars of the cage, now looking up with Elizabeta with widened, fearful eyes, “Don’t get near it! You can lose your powers too!”

A smile formed on Elizabeta’s face when she heard this. She understood they were scared, but she was so relieved to see all of them after hearing that the Dark Lord had captured them. She stood up and examined the barrier, “It’s okay,” She reassured them, “I’m going to break the barrier and bring you guys back home, okay?”

“Y-Yeah, b-but…” A Pixie with a green barrette in her light brown hair in the shape of a lily flew closer to Elizabeta, her violet eyes looking up at the fairy as well, “W-What if the Dark Lord comes back?”

“Then we’ll all fight him together. I’m not afraid of him,” Elizabeta said simply, not wanting to express her fear to them. After all, with Pixies, it was best to not show any sense of fear to make sure they wouldn’t panic. However, as she examined the eight Pixies that were trapped, she noticed one Pixie in the corner fast asleep. Her heart immediately filled with love seeing the Pixie, recognizing it as her own bonded one, “…Wait,” She began, “Has CeCe been asleep this entire time?” 

“Yup!” Rani, the Pixie with pigtails had spoken once again as she flew in the direction of CeCe. CeCe, who had been wearing a bonnet, had been fast asleep with her thumb in her mouth, “CeCe can sleep through anything! She is the Pixie of Slumber, after all. Plus, she’s just a baby Pixie, so babies need a lot of rest.”

“Time to wake up!” Meri, a Pixie who had been wearing a beautiful gown flew in the direction of the sleeping Pixie to fly beside Rani. With her hands, she had gently begun shaking the sleeping magical being, “Your favorite fairy is here!”

CeCe had rubbed her eyes and let out a small yawn upon being woken up. She blinked a few times; allowing for her eyes to come into focus. She looked up with her turquoise orbs; only to be greeted to the sight of the familiar face that belonged to Elizabeta. She gasped, flying up to the direction as loud squeals of excitement began to erupt from her, “Lizzy!”

“Hi baby girl,” Elizabeta indeed was relieved to see her bonded Pixie alright. All she could think about was all of them, so the fact that she had found them unharmed, she had come at the perfect timing. No one knew what the Dark Lord had planned, after all. She stood up with a sigh, “I need to get you guys out of here. I can feel my powers beginning to weaken even more the longer we stay in here,”

Homura, the Pixie with the barrette in her hair, had flown away from the bars of the cage to point upward, “Up there, Elizabeta,” She had said simply, resulting in Elizabeta to follow the pointing with her eyes, “That gargoyle. I think it’s transferring dark energy into these cages. I…I could be wrong, but if you can break it, perhaps it should be able to stop the spell.”

“Worth a shot,” Elizabeta agreed since she had no idea how she was going to break the Pixies out from such a barrier that radiated magical energy. 

With her eyes focused on the gargoyle, she had held out a hand in the direction of it where she noticed its eyes glowing red. An orb full of light soon formed in her palms before she had shot the orb at the direction of the gargoyle. The one-hit she had sent was enough for it to erupt into multiple pieces; shattering it…

…as well as shattering the barrier and cages that the Pixies were in.

All of the Pixies, who were once trapped in the cages, were suddenly on the ground of the room. They all had looked up at Elizabeta; relief on their faces. CeCe in particular immediately had begun to crawl in the direction of where Elizabeta had been, where the fairy had knelt down to pick her up and hug her close.

“I’m so glad you all are okay, really,” She said simply, placing a small kiss against the Pixie’s head before turning to look down at the rest of them, “I… I don’t have enough magical energy to transform and bring ourselves out of the balcony…. So we’re going to have to find another way out. I’ll carry you all.”

One by one, Elizabeta had held out her arms for the Pixies to climb upon. She held all eight of them closely, before soon stepping out of the room to enter the same corridor. 

The goal now was to make sure they weren’t caught by the Dark Lord.

As she walked, Elizabeta was absolutely silent as all the Pixies trembled in fear. The last thing she needed was for them to be scared, which was why Elizabeta soon began to pick up her pace knowing that they had to get out of there quickly.

It didn’t help though that once she had begun running, what sounded like gurgling had come from behind them.

“What was that?” Elizabeta whispered as she continued running ahead in the corridor.

“P-Probably a creature from the army of decay,” Homura had responded in a trembling tone, now swallowing nervously, “I-I hate those creatures so much…”

“Well, as long as it’s not that disgusting witch demon,” Elizabeta began as she ran faster, referencing the Dark Lord, “I’ll deal with the monsters. Don’t worry.”

In the midst of her running, she had no idea where she was running. If she was able to find a door that was open, or perhaps a staircase that could lead them to the lower levels so she wouldn’t have to climb down of the castle, then that would be her key to getting out. 

All of the Pixies had kept their faces hidden against Elizabeta’s chest. However, for one Pixie, Cece had slowly begun to crawl up the fairy’s chest. Being back with her bonded fairy was a relieving feeling, that all she wanted was to be close with her. Noticing that she had been wearing a hoodie with her traveling attire, CeCe had climbed into the hood of it and hid behind her hair; hiding in the warmth and scent that belonged to Elizabeta.

Despite Elizabeta speaking directly to the Pixies, gargoyles that had been resting on top of the corridors had their eyes glowing of power. It had taken one gargoyle to release the Pixies, but this didn’t neglect the fact that there were still gargoyles not only transferring a magical removal spell to the fairy and pixies…

…but allowing for the Dark Lord to have a visual of the intruder to his castle.

* * *

“ _What did you say, you little fairy?”_

Outside a balcony, a young man had been standing on it. He had been slender in build; pale, a jawline sharper than most human beings as he hissed at the sight of his gargoyle providing an image of what he had been seeing to reveal his fangs. His hair, which had been flaming red as two large horns had been sticking out of it, as his dark long nails had run along the shape of the statued gargoyle. 

His eyes, full of pure darkness, were also full of anger at the fact that there had been a little fairy in his castle. A fairy - of all magical creatures - had broken into his Kingdom to rescue the ‘toys’ he had captured as part of his mission.

“ _No one_ calls me a witch demon!” His hands were now into fists as he slammed his hand against the ledge of the balcony, “And I’m going to be teaching you a _valuable_ lesson for coming here, Princess Elizabeta.” 

Holding his hands up into the air, dark flames had soon begun to surround him. Laughter erupted from the man as he glared at the direction of his door; sending the flames immediately at the direction to be sent to the fairy. As the flames touched the ground, slowly, creatures of decay began to rise from the ground.

“ _Eyes of fire, warlocks, and witches of the magical dimension, lend me your power as I summon the bile monsters to eat this fairy. Arise, your master calls you!”_

As he continued on with his enchantment, creatures more and more began to rise from the ground. Some larger than most monsters to the smallest creature with mouths drooling and full of sharp teeth.

With the wave of his hand, the figure had sent the creatures out.

“ _…The first one to gobble up the fairy and vomit her head to me, will be treated to a feast by yours truly!”_

* * *

Running was all she could do. Every door that she had managed to find was locked, and she didn’t want to draw any more attention to herself as she already did with the amount of hissing and growling that seemed to have been coming from the creatures.

There had to be an end to the hallway, Elizabeta had thought to herself at one point. There was no possible way that it could be dragged on forever. Which to her luck, she indeed did reach the end of the hallway to be greeted to a door that was wide open.

It was all that she could find, so naturally, she had run directly in and used her legs to kick the doors closed firmly.

“Lizzy, I sense a portal,” Homura spoke  up from in between the fairy’s arms, resulting in Elizabeta to look down at her, “It’s being covered by something, but I’m sure we can find it.”

“You’re the Pixie of Portals for a reason, after all,” Elizabeta nodded in understanding as she stepped into the room that they were in; examining it closely. 

From what she could see, it looked like a storage room full of furniture that wasn’t used for decades. The furniture was decaying after years of no use, and thus, resulting in Elizabeta beginning to push around things to locate a portal as Homura had suggested. 

“Okay so, Homura,” Elizabeta had continued pushing around furniture with her feet; keeping the Pixies still close to her chest, “I’ll bring you up to the portal, you tell me what to do, and I’ll use my remaining magic to fully open it up—“

As she spoke, a bright light in the shade of red had formed in front of the fairy and pixies’. Elizabeta’s eyes widened as she shielded the Pixies from the sight of it, not knowing what it was. Dark magic radiated from it, which meant that it wasn’t good at all. 

It wasn’t long until what stepped out of the portal had looked to be a creature of decay, with drool dripping down its gums with teeth as sharp as blades beginning to approach her.

“Oh great!” Elizabeta cursed to herself in frustration, beginning to back away now. 

She didn’t know if it was from her running or from the Pixies being quiet, seeing that they were always chattering and the Dark Lord would be able to hear them, but she couldn’t take on a monster like this! 

Screams ensued from Elizabeta and the Pixies as they all watched the creature beginning to approach them. In height, it had been almost ten feet tall, with a head oozing of puss and a body made out of what looked to be decaying flesh. From the screams that had come from the fairy and pixies, the monster began its immediate first attack.

With its mouth wide open, what looked like sticky acid had been launched at Elizabeta’s direction. Elizabeta’s eyes widened as she dodged to the side; avoiding the hit before taking cover behind what looked to be a book shelf. 

This didn’t seem to please the creature at all. With them hiding, it had resulted in the monster to launch another attack again. This time; its razor teeth firing from its mouth to hit the bookshelf.

Elizabeta’s eyes widened seeing the teeth pierce all around her, but to her amazing luck, it didn’t hit her.

She crept out of the bookshelf, only to be greeted to the sight of its teeth slowly beginning to regenerate in its mouth. The only thing keeping her separated from the monster had been the sticky acid on the ground, which had her panic as she didn’t know where to go out of fear of touching it. 

Though again to her luck, the creature wasn’t as smart as it seemed. All it had taken was for the creature to launch at her and for her to dodge away once more, to have it soon fall into the sticky acid and become trapped in its own saliva.

“That is so gross!” Meri cried out.

“But it worked!” Homura exclaimed in relief before looking up at the fairy, “We need to get out of here because if anything, the Dark Lord knows we’re here!”

That was very true. The only reason monsters could be appearing now was because of their running, the Dark Lord must’ve figured it out.

The only exit to the room that Elizabeta could see was the way they had come in. And so, despite it being closed shut, she had kicked it open with her leg one more and proceeded to sprint down the corridor that she had entered in the first place. 

The sooner she was away from those monsters, the sooner she’d be able to figure out a better plan of escape.

As she ran, this was when she began to realize that perhaps going the opposite direction in the first place would have been the better route. The corridor was long and tiring to run through, but opposite to the door that they were once at was another door. She had no idea where it would lead to, but all it took for Elizabeta was for one kick to open it and run out…

…Only to be greeted to the sight of the waterfalls that belonged to the castle.

That was their way out. If she hadn’t gone the first direction, they would’ve been out of there quicker!

_“Why is that you fairies need to be so annoying?"_

A voice had filled the air the second the fairy and pixies were outside. The voice was unfamiliar to the fairy, but the Pixies soon found fear beginning to build up inside them upon immediately recognizing who the voice was.

And it was a voice that no one ever wanted to be associated with. 

Dark shadows begin to take form in front of the magical beings to take shape into a figure. This figure, where his piercing black-filled eyes were staring directly into Elizabeta’s now; had an angered expression on his face that was enough to suggest a dominating figure had entered the environment.

A dominating figure that was powerful enough to wipe them easily.

“I’m afraid you’re going to have to hand over those Pixies, Princess Elizabeta,” The figure had said simply; extending a hand to the fairy to reveal his long black nails practically creeping with small spiders around it.

“No!” Elizabeta kept her arms around the Pixies, “What demon like you would want anything to do with them!? They’re magical beings of light, and you’re a magical being of darkness!”

The Dark Lord wasn’t pleased with the response he had been given. Instead, he had snapped his fingers, where a powerful blast of air had knocked Elizabeta directly to her feet to drop the Pixies. The Pixies had shrieked as they were dropped, though just before they had hit the ground, a magical barrier similar to the one they were trapped in previously wrapped around them.

“Wrong answer,” He responded; the barrier of Pixies soon being brought to his grasp as he approached the fairy and glared down at her. To emphasize his point, he had risen a leg and kicked the fairy right into her side; resulting in a loud groan of pain to erupt from Elizabeta while the Pixies cried out more and more, “You think you have a chance against me? Now, that’s funny.”

Despite being kicked, Elizabeta had used her arm to hit against the figure’s legs. He had tripped back; stumbling as she had pushed herself up from the ground and held out her hands where magic began to form in the palms of her hands, “Give me back the Pixies, now!”

“After that stunt?” With a snap of his fingers, the magic that was in Elizabeta’s hands had immediately vanished. She had gasped seeing her power disappear, resulting in the figure to hold out his hand as the dark shadows around him soon shot to the girl to wrap around her, “I don’t think so. I’ll make sure you feel the shadows of darkness deep into your little fairy soul, as the last thing you _ever_ feel.”

A loud, panicked scream managed to erupt from Elizabeta. She had struggled in the grasp, though the more she had struggled, the tighter the shadow had become around her body. Her eyes turned to face the Pixies, where they had continued to cry out from the barrier that the dark Lord had surrounded around them.

There was nothing she could do.

Her powers were gone.

She was weak.

Which was exactly what the Dark Lord wanted her in.

Her body was brought over to the edge of the castle now; the sounds of waterfalls underneath her filling her ears. Elizabeta looked at the figure with her eyes widen as laughter erupted from him, which was where she could feel his grip around her body beginning to release.

“ _Goodbye, Elizabeta.”_

All it took was one snap of his fingers for the shadows of darkness to release the girl’s body. 

And soon, a loud scream ensued from Elizabeta as she made her fall down the waterfall.

Nothing but the sound of a splash filling the Dark Lord’s ears.

Another intruder, once again, being properly taken care of.


	2. Back to School

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Goodbye, Elizabeta.”
> 
> All it took was one snap of his fingers for the shadows of darkness to release the girl’s body.
> 
> And soon, a loud scream ensued from Elizabeta as she made her fall down the waterfall.
> 
> Nothing but the sound of a splash filling the Dark Lord’s ears.
> 
> Another intruder, once again, being properly taken care of.

The sun was shining from above. Birds were chirping, there was a light breeze in the air - a perfect morning for move-in day at Lenfia College for fairies.

Students from different realms, from new first-years to third-year seniors, walked through the gates of the school with their belongings. Check-in points were established, where all students were to check-in with an administrator to retrieve their kids and class schedule for the upcoming fall semester. 

Some were excited and looking forward to beginning their journey as a fairy, while some were tearfully saying goodbye to their parents at the entrance of the school with it being their first time leaving home.

A blonde who had been standing at around 5’3” in height had been looking up towards the entrance of the university. In each of her hands, she had been holding onto suitcases with a calm expression drawn to her face. She had been wearing a pair of black shorts and a white blouse all while her hair was pulled halfway back with a ribbon and her bangs rested on her forehead. It was the perfect attire to show a student returning from a very long summer break.

Natalya walked through the entrance of the school, examining the area. Everything was the same since she had last been on campus. Lenfia College was an absolutely beautiful school, and the fact that she was returning as a second-year gave her strength to prepare for another intense year of classes, training, and perhaps even missions if the rumor she had heard about second years beginning missions being true. 

“It’s so good to be back…” She couldn’t help but sigh in relief seeing that things were completely normal.

The last time she had been on Lenfia’s campus was during that week. The week of what absolutely changed her life. 

Losing her powers, taking on a battle with one of her biggest enemies, saving the entire magical dimension - it was something she never thought would have happened.

That entire summer was much different compared to her previous summer breaks. In this case, it being a chance of going through self-reflection when it was uncovered who she really was. 

For the first seventeen years of her life, she had grown up on Earth was a normal girl. She went to school, had a few friends, a loving family, and did most things that normal humans would experience growing up. That was until two weeks before she was to begin her senior year of high school that she would meet someone that changed her life.

Florentyna’s entrance on Earth was one that she didn’t expect to experience. The encounter was unexpected, but it allowed for her to awaken her powers and discover she had magic capabilities. Florentyna was injured, and the thing was that Natalya couldn’t just leave someone injured in the middle of a park in Moscow of all places. And so, she had taken the girl back home where her family helped take care of her until she woke up.

Then began the talk of magic and the magic dimension. Florentyna had shown her powers to her family, claiming that Natalya had amazing magical capabilities, as well as how shocking it was it took so many years for her to discover her powers. No one had known how or why. Therefore, leading for Florentyna to propose that Natalya join her at Lenfia College for fairies.

Perhaps there, she would be able to figure out why she, a girl from Earth, had such abilities.

Who knew that attending that one school, going to the magic dimension, and meeting the descendants of the ancestral witches would lead for her to discover that she wasn’t who she really was all along.

It all began with dreams. Dreams the second she stepped into the magic dimension by a beautiful goddess-like figure. She would always be so comforting in her dreams, telling Natalya things that never really made sense at first. But going back and reflecting about those dreams during that summer break, made her realize that those dreams were more powerful than it seemed.

It was her own mother… Her biological mother, reaching out in hopes that she could perhaps reconnect her youngest daughter with the truth of who she is and how she got to Earth.

Learning that she was adopted was one of the most life-changing experiences that Natalya had ever faced. She remembered feeling lost for days - weeks on end - that she didn’t know how to react after knowing the family she had grown up with wasn’t by blood. But then she realized, blood never mattered in the first place.

What mattered was that there was that love. That love was so strong that her family had adopted her as a baby and helped raised her to become the woman that she was now when her real parents couldn’t. 

She was eighteen now. While the summer was mostly out of self-reflection, this didn’t neglect the fact that the entire magic dimension was in a celebration that the lost Princess was found.

The Braginsky family was very well-loved in the dimension. For generations, the family had served primarily as the rulers of the entire dimension, as well as the protectors and guardians of the ultimate power of all universes: the dragon flame and heart of ice.

These two powers were come to known as the powers that had created the magical dimension. After the Gods had decided to lay in rest when finishing to complete all universes, it was decided that a guardian fairy would be the one to protect the powers for as long as she or he lived.

Generations of fairies served as the guardian of this power. It was when Alyona, the former guardian fairy had gotten married to the King of Sparx - the ruler of the capital of the magic dimension - that her heirs would be next on continuing the flame. 

After a tragic battle on Sparx eighteen years ago, Natasha was chosen and sent to Earth through Alyona to continuing serving to those Gods and protecting the powers with their lives. 

Returning to that campus on that beautiful day, Natalya was different. She began her first year at Lenfia as a normal girl from Earth. Now, she was beginning her second year as a Princess.

But Princess didn’t feel right at all. How could she be a Princess if her Kingdom has been lost for this long? 

Regardless of this, she was still going through that journey of self-discovery. She had promised to it. The day the descendants of the ancestral witches were defeated, she promised that she would same her family and planet when she was strong enough.

Which meant she was confident with entering her second year at Lenfia, especially with finishing the first year top of her class in training. 

As she walked through the campus, she knew things would be much different. The first difference starting off with the number of stares that were made right in her direction. 

Stares that she didn’t like at all. 

There was something about being the center of attention that she had been experiencing throughout the summer. While the majority of the time she was on Earth, she did frequently visit the dimension because after all - she was a member of its society.

In addition, being in love made it hard to stay away from the one person that she cared about truly.

Meeting Alfred on Earth the day Florentyna had arrived was the last thing she had ever expected to fall in love with. The reality was that he was a weirdo. He was a nerd, cracked terrible jokes, but was very charming. He was funny to the point where while she cringed most times, it was part of his personality that she loved. There was something about seeing someone’s true genuine side that she admired. 

Throughout the past year, he had proven himself to be comfortable around her, just as she was very comfortable showing her flaws and weird side to him. When she had first shown her collection of knives and weird books back home, he didn’t freak out. Instead, he had sat down and asked her questions about it - even at one point, letting her hold a real sword that was used by the Knights in his Kingdom.

Indeed, the Knights of his Kingdom.

Finding out that Alfred was a Prince was the one thing that she never expected to hear after learning that she had been adopted. He never acted like a Prince. Let alone, she was sure that Princes had to be much more strict. 

Then there was Alfred, a Prince who wore cowboy hats and tried on her skirts to make her laugh at how ridiculous he looked. 

It was hard to still believe it, especially since at some point, he was supposed to be crowned King. 

Though when having the chance to visit his Kingdom and meet his family, after him having to promise her that she’d be treated to a ‘fancy royal meal’, he was completely different than the Alfred she knew. More serious, more strict, but behind closed doors, he was the goofball that she had fallen in love with. 

His family was welcoming to her. Especially when everyone in the dimension had known she was the daughter of the two ultimate rulers of that universe, she was treated with high respect. To the point where when she had arrived and bowed to Alfred’s parents, King Arthur and Queen Catherine, they had insisted she didn't need to even bother. 

It was a good summer she experienced. Intense, but also relaxing seeing that she had the chance to visit the magic dimension when she could. 

It came with the cost though of being recognized--

\--Every.

Single.

Time.

The stares were ignored by Natalya as she approached one of the administrators checking-in students. She was more eager to see her friends, but for now, it was probably best to get the keys to her room and drop her belongings off. 

This administrator looked down when seeing who was next in line. Her blonde hair had been pulled back into a bun, while on her nose bridge rested a pair of red reading glasses. She had been wearing a white blouse, a black pencil skirt around her waist, and a black pair of matching heels. 

_“Natalya Arlovskaya. Surprised you aren’t here with Princess Florentyna.”_

Natalya gave a nod when hearing her name. The administrator had already begun looking through her clipboard for the name, “Good morning, Miss Glynda.” She began, “No, Florentyna told me she already checked in.”

“Now did she?” Glynda rose a brow hearing this, checking her list for the name, “Ah, I see. She checked in about three hours ago. I’m surprised… I’d expect it _you_ being the one to check in first, _then_ her.”

The comment had Natalya chuckle nervously. There was something very intimidating about the woman. Even though Glynda and all the administrators knew that she was the lost Princess, they all still treated her the same as any student at Lenfia would. Let alone, still referred to her as Natalya since that was who she was. 

A snap with her fingers resulted in a pen to appear in Glynda’s hand before soon she had checked off Natalya’s name on her board, “You’re all checked in,” She lowered the clipboard where an orb of light slowly rose from it and flew in Natalya’s direction. The orb was grasped by Natalya’s hands, before soon, it had taken the shape into a pair of keys, “I’m sure you know the punishment already for losing your keys now, don’t you.”

“Yes ma’am,” Natalya said simply, completely unphased as she held onto the keys tightly, “Lose your keys and get turned into a ball of slime. Break any rules, get turned into a ball of slime. It sticks in your mind after hearing it many times.”

“Good, glad to have no need to repeat it then,” Glynda had a smirk drawn to her lips. With her being the Head of Discipline, it was a mistake to anger her or break any of Lenfia’s rules. Turning into a ball of slime was just one of the famously well-known punishments that students could experience. However, there were much worse that can be done. Alas, the administrator continued, “You’re all set. Please keep in mind that Headmistress Radella will be having a welcome ceremony in about four hours from now. See you then.”

A welcome ceremony. It must’ve been a tradition at Lenfia to have one to start off the new school year.

And so, she began making her way directly towards the dormitories. There was nothing else that she wanted to do other than drop off her things and have her hands free so she could explore the campus. The one thing different for this year’s dorms was that she was in the second year building, which meant she and her friends rooming with her would be getting a few upgrades compared to their first year. 

While there were still some similarities, such as sharing rooms, there was now a bigger living room space, a dining room, and two bathrooms instead of last year where everything was much smaller and only had one bathroom. 

Natalya walked through the doors, minding her own business while walking up the staircase. She had been living on the second floor, which was nice seeing that there were five floors of the second year's dormitories. Seeing that there was a line near the elevator, she would take the stairs up with pleasure, even if she was carrying heavy suitcases.

Upon arriving at the top of the stairs, Natalya continued walking forward and approached the door with the room number that matched her key. She knew Florentyna had arrived, though as for the rest of her friends, she had no idea. 

Her question was soon answered though as she slipped the key inside the door to unlock it; walking in and being greeted to the sight of clothes scattered everywhere in the entryway. 

An annoyed expression immediately filled her face. If there was one thing that she knew, there was one person who would make a mess like this that easily…

“… _Florentyna!”_

The door was closed behind Natalya as she stepped further into the suite. It was very nice, to where she had to stop in her tracks to admire the space compared to the year before. The fact that the suite was very beautiful and there were clothes everywhere? It wasn’t a sight that she wanted to walk into when arriving.

Her suitcases were placed against the couches of the living room as one by one, Natalya had picked up the different articles of clothing. From shirts to skirts, to even panties and thongs - she had never seen someone with this many items of clothes. Natalya didn’t know which room belonged to the other, but upon hearing shuffling and frustrating cries from one room…

…Then she knew.

The door was kicked open by Natalya where she was greeted to the sight of clothes everywhere. There had been six suitcases open on the ground full of clothes, while in the middle of it all, had been a crying Florentyna on her knees with a dress over her head.

“ _Natalya!”_ She had gasped upon recognizing the other; her eyes full of tears as she stood up, “I am HAVING an _emergency_!”

The annoyed expression from before was still clear on Natalya’s face. To emphasize her annoyance, she had dropped the clothes she had picked up right onto her feet while keeping her arms crossed underneath her chest. Did Florentyna really think someone like her would sympathize over something like _this?_

“Okay,” Were the first words that came from the European girl, “And I’m assuming that’s why you pretty much marked your scent in this entire apartment like a dog with throwing your clothes everywhere?” 

“This is serious!” Florentyna removed the dress from her head and tossed it back into her suitcase, now wiping away at the tears that had formed around her eyes, “I’m going through a fashion block!”

“A fashion _what_.”

“A fashion _block!”_ The energetic blonde had approached the other. Her hair had been pulled back into two low pigtails, while she had been wearing a pink ruffled skirt, a sparkly lighter pink top and light green heels to match, “Didn’t you hear!? Apparently Headmistress Radella is letting us party today after the welcome ceremony, and I have _NOTHING_ to wear!”

A party? This was news to Natalya. All she had been told was that it was a welcome ceremony to start off the new year. There was nothing about a party mentioned, but it made her wonder why Radella had suddenly been making that route.

Headmistress Radella was someone that she had a lot of high respect for. She was not only a former fairy godmother, but she was also a member of the Company of Light. The Company of Light had been a group of powerful, influential figures who served the King and Queen of Sparx as guardians to protect the user of the dragon flame and heart of ice. 

The only reason to why Natalya knew so much about the older woman was that not only was she an administrator - but she was _her_ godmother. The one person her own mother had entrusted to take care of her if anything had ever happened. 

Yet, a party all of a sudden after a welcome ceremony seemed completely new. Perhaps she wanted to start off the school year in celebration that there are new students? She had no idea. 

“I just don’t know what to do, Natalya!” A pair of hands had been reached over by Florentyna where she had grabbed the other’s shoulders, shaking them, “What should I do!?”

“Wait, I’m confused,” Natalya spoke and reached over to grab the hands so she would stop shaking her, “I thought you were all about ‘fashion’. You visited me on Earth not even two weeks ago to look at the clothes there, and easily were able to critique the clothing like,” She cleared her throat, mocking the other’s high-pitched voice, “ _When you wear a short skirt in a city like this, that girl should curl her hair, not straighten it! It makes her look like a mummy!_ \- sort of bullshit.” 

“Yes, that’s because Earthlings have terrible fashion taste, Natalya!” There was another frustrating huff from Florentyna, “You are lucky that you have me to handle your ‘clearance outfits’. I don’t know how you’d survive if someone knew your clothes were mostly second hand!”

“Heh, the blouse I’m wearing right now is a hand-me-down from my older sister.”

“SAME THING!” Florentyna looked down and kicked the clothes that were next to Natalya’s feet, “Just, please, help me!”

How was she supposed to help her? If she wanted to be real with her, the reality was that Natalya had a completely different sense of taste of clothing when it came to Florentyna. Without even saying a word, she had stepped away and approached what looked to be a black dress; picking it up and tossing it over to the other, “There. Wear that. That’s cute.”

“NO!” As the dress was tossed to her, Florentyna had stared at it for a moment to examine it before tossing it back into a suitcase, “I couldn’t possibly wear black! Green is the new thing in fashion!”  


“…Okay,” This was wasting her time. With a sigh, Natalya had turned away from the door and slowly began closing it, “Just find a green dress and call it a day. I need to go unpack.” 

Despite closing the door behind her, she could still hear Florentyna’s whining from behind it. After having to live with Florentyna for over a year, she had learned over time that when she was going through one of these moments, to give her space and allow time to do its thing with calming her down.

The suitcases that she had left at the couch were grabbed before Natalya had begun dragging them towards the door that had her name on the plate. She smiled noticing that she had been rooming once again with Tatyana, seeing that they had gotten along quite well during their first year. 

Walking into the room though, she didn’t expect to be greeted to the feeling of positive magic filling the area.

“Whoa…” Natalya blinked for a moment; closing the door behind her as she approached the bed that her nameplate over it. 

The sounds of stumbling had been heard behind her, which startled her as she turned around to find its source. In one of the closets, she had been greeted to the sight of Tatyana holding onto what looked like a large plant. It made sense - after all, she was the fairy of all nature.

“Oh, Natalya!” She gasped upon recognizing the other. The plant that was in her hand was put down onto the ground where she approached Natalya, reaching in for a tight hug, “I’m so happy to see you! Isn’t it amazing in here? It’s a technique I learned over the summer - aeromagic-therapy through plants.”

The hug was returned by Natalya before she pulled away to sit down. The mentioning of aeromagic-therapy all made sense as to why she was now relaxed, “Wow,” She began and sat down on the edge of her bed, “So that’s why I feel like I’m floating on a cloud…”

“Yup!” Tatyana smiled and turned back to the plant she had put down to pick right back up. This time, moving it directly to her side of the room where a variety of other plants were set out, “It changes your mood and gives energy to your powers.”

“Makes sense as to why I’m suddenly so happy after dealing with Floerntyna,” Natalya admitted and laid herself down on the bed, letting out a small sigh, “Maybe you should let her step in here. She’s having an anxiety attack over this apparent party that’s going on after the Headmistress’ welcome ceremony.”

“A party?” Tatyana looked over at the other; her brows risen with a bit of amusement, “I didn’t hear of a party. Let alone, I wouldn’t think the Headmistress would have one that soon.”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Natalya sat up on her bed; crisscrossing her legs and looking up over at the other as she continued to unpack her belongings, “Headmistress Radella wouldn’t do that.”

“…Well, now that I think about it…” There was a small hum to Tatyana’s tone of voice. Upon noticing her change of speech, Natalya leaned over in interest, “I’ve always heard of a tradition where third-year students throw ‘parties’ in their suites as a celebration for their senior year. It’s always been a rumor though and I never have seen it happen, but I wonder if it _is_ true after all?” 

“No, because everyone would’ve been talking about it online if that was it.” Natalya said simply, which Tatyana couldn’t help but to agree with in response, “Well, whatever it is, I’m choosing to not worry about it because I am exhausted.” 

Exhausted was an understatement of how she felt. But, she did force herself to get up at one point to at least begin putting away some of her things from her suitcases. Despite having the entire evening to unpack, she wanted to at least have most of her things away so she could begin classes the following day being fully-well-rested.

When she believed she had a majority of her things put away, she had decided that she’d go on a little walk. Monika and Mei had already arrived at the suite and traded their greetings with one another before soon Mei had left to explore what was to be a rumored new music room while Monika handled unpacking her own belongings. 

Wandering through the hallways of Lenfia by herself did bring back a lot of memories. Natalya found herself relaxed with it being quiet in mostly the academic halls. After all, there were still people moving in and most likely relaxing in their suites, so she’d rather take the free time before the welcome ceremony to explore the area before it’d be full of students the following day rushing around for classes.

The hallways at Lenfia were very beautiful. It was simple - but was decorated with hand-painted roses and flowers that almost made it feel like she was wandering in a forest of flowers. The windows provided a good amount of sunlight as well to highlight the details of the designs on the walls as well. 

Though as she was walking, something had managed to catch her eye.

From afar, a little creature seemed to have been flying all around by itself. She couldn’t tell what type of creature it was, but seeing that it had radiated a bright light, it had to be a positive source of magic, right? 

“What the hell?” Natalya muttered to herself upon noticing it turn a corner into another part of the hallway.

Now she was curious, but also intrigued. 

So instead of ignoring it as any person should, she allowed her curiosity to flourish as she began to follow it quietly to better examine what the creature was. She was quiet as she crept up towards the corner, which when she was close enough to it, that was when she was able to see it better.

It looked like a miniature little iguana with a pair of wings. She couldn’t tell what it was exactly, but the fact that it had wings and was staring right at her with glowing eyes showed that it possessed magic. Natalya kept her distance, not wanting to scare it off as she stepped out of the corner to reveal herself. It seemed that the creature was unphased by her, thus leading her to take another step further.

“Wait…” She knelt down now when she was close enough to the creature, “I know what you are… You’re a fortune pixie, right?” 

It all made sense to her. She had learned about these in one of her classes from the previous year - specifically on the history of the magic dimension. The magic dimension had a variety of magical beings. From normal humans to fairies, there were also mermaids, centaurs, witches, demons, paladins, angels, sorcerers - and even fey, which were usually referred to as Pixies. 

The Pixie creature didn’t say anything to the fairy. Instead, it had continued flying midair, staring right at her as Natalya continued to inquire, “I heard that if I capture you, you’re supposed to tell me my fortune, hm? Maybe… you can tell me if I’m able to find my birth family?” 

The second she had said this, it was as if saying those words had resulted in the creature to glance at her once more before flying off.

Natalya knelt there, dumbfounded and confused. Was it something she had said? Either way, now she was determined to catch it as she stood up, beginning to follow where it was going, “Wait, come back! Damn it.”

And she thought unpacking was exhausting. Chasing a little pixie creature was a whole other level of exhaustion as she sprinted down the hallways to follow it. It didn’t help that the creature decided to take turns every so often, to a point where when they had reached a dead end…

…it had disappeared.

“What?” Natalya blinked in confusion as she looked around the hallway, “Where did it go?”

It was right in front of her just a moment ago. Now, it had suddenly disappeared into thin air? Did it all of a sudden disappear into the wall, or maybe transport itself somewhere else?

That was when she had noticed it.

Upon examining the dead end of the hallway, she had noticed that there had been a lot of mirrors. Yet, upon standing in front of the mirror, it had no reflection of herself or of the wall opposite from it. It was as if it were a blank, glass canvas. 

If there was one thing she was thankful for, it was that she actually paid attention in her classes.

“I’ve heard about this place before…” She began, reaching over to run her fingers along the edges of the mirror, “Professor Polonium discussed this in his class last semester… reflections of different magical realities.”

It all made sense. What other reason would it look like a mirror, yet have no reflection? 

Magical reality had different entrances. Some that can’t be seen, and others that can be seen if magic was used. 

Natalya approached the dead end of the hallway and stared at the blank wall that stood there. There was no painting or mirror in front of it. All it was was a blank, painted wall, with dust gathering around it. 

“I don’t have to see it, to believe it’s there…” She muttered to herself as she reached over; her eyes glowing of magic as she reached over to touch the wall.

That was when she felt it.

Fiddling her hand against the wall, she had managed to make contact with what seemed to be a handle. It was invisible, so she couldn’t see it. So all she had done was twist it and give it a small push for it to open to her. 

So she was right. It was a magical reality hallway.

Her jaw dropped seeing that she had managed to find an invisible door. No one could tell it was there. But if one thought about it as she did, then they would be able to figure it out. With pushing open the door, Natalya had stepped inside and immediately looked inside the room to examine the area.

It was there she was greeted to a sight that she had no idea existed in Lenfia.

It was a library. Not just any library, but a library that had to be at least a thousand feet in height with books stacking up to the very top of it. The top of the ceiling had been made out of glass to reveal the sun shining down over the school, while balconies connected on the walls, which would allow for anyone to climb up and stand if they were searching for a book.

“This is beautiful…” Natalya had gasped; closing the door behind her before stepping inside.

“ _Sorry, I’m not doing psychic readings today. We’re closed to prepare for the new school year.”_

A voice immediately filled Natalya’s ears. It was a voice that she didn’t recognize at all, resulting in her finding herself startled. She was only looking for the creature that she had encountered in the hallway - not expecting to run into anyone at all. 

Though what she expected to be a human-looking person, it had been someone else entirely.

In front of her, a bright light had formed, which had resulted in the young woman to shield her eyes from how bright it was. Natalya blinked for a moment when it had calmed herself, only to be greeted to the sight of a small creature flying in front of her.

It…. Was a Pixie! An older looking fey-Pixie with her hair pulled back into a bun, wearing blue robes and a pair of glasses resting on the bridge of her nose. In her hands, she seemed to have been holding onto a few scrolls, yet also looked very annoyed at the fact that there was a fairy who had gotten in.

“Look,” The Pixie began; her arms crossed as the scrolls in her arms disappeared. She… She was scolding her for breaking in! “You need to leave, miss—“

“Wait—“ Natalya interrupted her with her eyes widened. Now she recognized who the Pixie was, “You’re Professor Laurel, the Psychic Pixie, right? I wanted to take your honors seminar last semester, but I couldn’t because it was only open for third years.”

“Yes I am, but that doesn’t excuse the fact that you’re in here—“ The Pixie only continued out of anger and frustration. Yet, the more she stared at Natalya, she felt her eyes widen and tone of voice begin to slow down out of shock, “Wait…you…aren’t you… you’re…”

She flew up right into Natalya’s face. This startled her at first, resulting in her to back away with her hands up out of defense. She had no idea what the Pixie was talking about, though with a loud gasp, something had happened.

“You’re Alyona and Viktor’s daughter!” She had gasped and brought her hands up to her face, clearly shocked from the sight, “Princess Natasha, isn’t it? What, what are you doing here!? Shouldn’t you be with the Headmistress? Oh my goodness, I am so sorry! I should’ve cleaned up here if I knew the Princess was going to give a visit-!”

“Whoa whoa whoa,” Natalya continued holding her hands up before waving them in order to hint to the Pixie to calm down. She sighed once Laurel had calmed her shock before speaking, “Listen, yes, I am Alyona and Viktor’s daughter, but I go by Natalya. Second, I didn’t mean to come here. I was actually following that fortune pixie that looks like some sort of lizard — I was hoping it could tell me my fortune, but I guess I scared it away.”

“…Do you mean Lupis?” Laurel had turned her head over and motioned over to a table behind her. 

There, it allowed for Natalya to see the sight of the pixie creature she had been following before, now fast asleep on a pillow. An annoyed expression formed on her face realizing that it had escaped and lead her here, but she supposed it didn’t matter at that point, “Yeah… That’s him alright.”

“Well, seeing that you are the Princess of the Magic Dimension,” With the snap of her fingers, what looked to be a small table with tea formed in front of Laurel. She had flown to a seat; pushing up her glasses as she smiled up at the girl, “I wouldn’t mind telling you your fortune. I’m sure you’ve never had that done before, have you?”  


“No ma’am,” Natalya said simply since it was true. She’s never had her fortune done, so it must be an entirely new experience.

And so, the Pixie nodded in understanding as she held out her hands. A bright light had formed in the palms of her hand, radiating positive magic as it soon split into multiple orbs. The orbs, which had been up to probably a hundred, all floated up to Natalya to surround her figure.

“Let’s see…” The Pixie cleared her throat while closing her eyes, “Well, I sense a lot of bright light from you,” 

“A bright light?” This was confusing to Natalya. But alas, she listened closely as she knelt down to look at the Pixie, “I hope that’s a good sign.”

“Absolutely.” As Laurel continued, she had reached for a cup of tea that was being poured into a teacup. She held the cup in her hand, taking small sips from it while keeping her eyes closed, “It means that you are loved. Not only by a family but by four lights of friendship around you that will be with you for a long, long time. I can already see a bright future for you, even if you’re just eighteen years old.”

“Huh…” Natalya listened closely, “Those lights are probably Florentyna, Tatyana, Mei, and Monika, right? They… All really mean a lot to me.” 

“—No wait,” Laurel sat up, immediately interrupting the girl, “I sense _five_ lights of friendship, actually.”

“Five?” What did that mean? The only four individuals that she would consider close to her were the ones she had just listed out to the Pixie. Natalya continued kneeling there; thought being drawn to her face that was full of confusion, “A fifth light… Could that be Alfred, maybe? We’re in a relationship, but he’s also one of my best friends.”

“I do see the name Alfred around you, yes,” The Pixie nodded, though lowered her cup of tea to lean closer to the girl while the orbs continued floating around her, “But… He falls under a different category in your future. The _family_ category.” 

_ “Family?”  _

“Oh yes,” There was a nod from her once more as a smile was drawn to her lips, “I sense there will be a few bumps along the way of your relationship, but I see great romance and love between you two. A love that will lead to your futures, a future where you two will be family, as well as be taking care of a family of your own.”

The second she had heard this, her face had gone red. It wasn’t that Natalya hadn’t been upset or embarrassed to hear such a fortune - but she was shocked by it. It was the last thing she didn’t hear about, because all right now, she thought everything was fine between them. But the mentioning of a future such as that one? The Pixie was very vague, so she didn’t know what ‘own family’ had referred to.

“But that’s not the only adventure you’ll endure, Natalya,” She finished her statement with a small hum to her tone. From there, the Pixie had clapped her fingers; the orbs now flying right back to her direction and disappearing, “You have many more journeys you will be experience throughout your life, especially as the future guardian fairy of the dragon flame and heart of ice.”

“That’s not surprising to me,” There was a chuckle that came from Natalya when she heard this. Other adventures? Already, just moving back to Lenfia was an adventure itself, “What kind of adventure? Is it about my family?”

“…Part yes, but also part no.” The Pixie looked up at the fairy, which had Natalya frown slightly hearing a response, “You will get to that journey as fate right now believes you are not ready and need to be more prepared. But, I will tell you, your next journey will begin soon. One where it will start off with you meeting a new friend. A fairy Princess with beautiful long brown hair, and this Princess will have a sleeping baby Pixie with her… But,” She frowned, her eyes now widening, “…Once this journey begins, you may be in danger.” 

“What’s that supposed to mean?—“ Natalya stood up, not liking the mentioning of being in danger. She didn’t think she’d meet anyone new at Lenfia - let alone, make a new friend. But the fact that _she_ could be in danger? That didn’t sound good to her at all, “I’m in danger?—“

As the questions were said, what sounded like chiming had filled the room. The orbs were gone now as the Pixie was startled and turned to face the door of the room. The chiming soon turned into beautiful music, which was usually used as a dismissal bell for classes when class was in session for students to leave. 

This chime, in particular, was to signify students that the welcome ceremony was to begin soon.

“Oh dear, it seems that the welcome ceremony is to begin soon, hm?” Laurel had flown up from her seat and clapped her hands; the tea set and chair she was once using disappearing. She flew up to Natalya’s face, giving her a smile once more, “You should head off so you can get yourself a good spot, dear. I wouldn’t want you being late to a fun event, no?”

That was a valid point. However, after nodding and thanking the Pixie once more for giving her fortune a reading, there was something about leaving that secret library that she didn’t feel comfortable about. Being told that she was in danger and how it’d all begin once she met a fairy Princess with a baby Pixie…

…It was too hard to believe in the first place.

* * *

_“Where is Natalya!? I want all of us here together when the surprise is announced!”_

_“She went to go on a walk after you were having a midlife crisis in your bedroom, Florentyna.”_

Laughter erupted from the group of girls that had been standing at the entrance of Lenfia. Florentyna, who had been wearing a green dress after believing it was in ‘season’, glared at Mei who seemed to be staring at her with a smirk on her face from her statement.

“Oh ha-ha, really funny,” Florentyna playfully stuck her tongue out at the other; now reaching for her phone to glance at the time. 

It was about five minutes before the welcome ceremony was, to begin with, Headmistress Radella. There was a reason why Florentyna had been eager for Natalya’s presence, but she was under an agreement where she couldn’t say anything. 

Her frustration wasn’t understood by the group at all. If anything, it was understood that Florentyna was having a crisis on what outfit to wear for a simple ceremony. Nothing more than that.

“Yeah, speaking of that,” Monika lowered her phone as she had been previously occupied by it, “I read the group chat earlier. You trashed the suite with your clothes?”

“…No!” Florentyna huffed in annoyance, now turning her head away in embarrassment. Of course, Natalya snitched to their personal group chat what had happened, “I just got a little carried away.”

“Mhm, and you should thank Natalya for taking the time to clean it up, Florentyna,” Tatyana reached over and placed a hand on top of the other’s shoulder, “Especially before Monika showed up to the suite,” She playfully teased, resulting in a scoff to come from Monika.

After all, it was a known fact that she was the strict one of the entire group.

_“I’m here!”_

The new voice managed to catch the group’s attention. With turning around, they had all managed to catch on the familiar blonde sprinting out what looked to be one of the academic halls. 

Natalya had lost track of time. That was the reality, but she was too busy trying to figure out what Laurel had told her earlier in the secret library. From what she understood, no one seemed to know that the archive existed in the first place. She would keep it to herself for now, for the sake of not wanting to give her friends ideas on sneaking around and maybe going into it when school hours were closed. 

“Where the heck were you, Nat?” Mei couldn’t help but chuckle seeing how the other was sprinting, since she didn’t think that there was a need for any rushing, “I thought you went on a walk.”  


“I did,” Natalya responded, speaking the truth as she stood there to catch her breath. As she did so, she fixed her posture and looked up at her friends, “I just got distracted, but I’m here now.”

“Distracted or not, you were going to miss the surprise.” Florentyna huffed, which had now everyone looking at her in confusion.

“…What surprise?” Monika had been the first to break the ice by asking.

“Yeah,” Natalya looked at the other blonde with her eyes narrowed, “What did you do?” 

A large smirk had formed on Florentyna’s lips. It wasn’t any ordinary smirk, but a smirk that showed she indeed had something planned… And no one knew what it was. This was the risk of it all. When Florentyna had surprises, it could either go very good or very bad and terrible.

Florentyna wrapped an arm around Natalya in particular, leading her toward the gates of the college, ‘Just follow me, guys. It’s totally going to be worth it.”

“I don’t like this at all,” Natalya muttered.

“Me too,” Mei moved closer to the two; peeking her head behind Natalya’s shoulders, “The last time you said you had a surprise Florentyna, it was when you rented that boat out during the summer on that one planet… Which was great and all—“

“Until we found out the damn planet you brought us to had sharks in the water,” Monika said simply, which resulted in Florentyna chuckling nervously.

“Okay okay, I messed up that time, I’ll take the blame!” Florentyna insisted and pulled her arms away from Natalya once they were at the entrance of the school. As she did so, she glanced down at her phone to check the time, “But trust me, this surprise is ten times better than renting out a private boat… And it should be arriving just about now.”

The surprises were always random from Florentyna. It was why Natalya at that moment, kept her distance away from the other because she had no idea what the other had planned. Though it was when she had mentioned about the surprise arriving ‘about now’, that the group of fairies had looked ahead to hear the sounds of a motor running. 

It wasn’t just any motor. It was the sound of a motor of a bike.

All of their eyes had widened upon realizing _who_ the bikes belonged to. 

Behind a pair of trees, what looked to be two bikes driving past quickly through it. The leaves of the tree had thrashed back and forth from the wind of the cycle, revealing the individuals who had been on it. 

And those individuals seemed to have been in the middle of a race.

The sounds of a motor being revved up could all be heard from the girls now as the bikes got closer. The entire time, Florentyna having what seemed to be a large smirk on her face when the first bike had arrived right in front of them, followed by another behind him as well. 

“ _And once again, I, Gilbert of Eraqion, have beaten his highness in being the best motorcyclist of this dimension!”_

The helmet that was on top of his head was removed to reveal the albino that the group of girls had all known. With a large smirk on his face, he had set the bike onto park and looked directly at Natalya, “I’m just tellin’ ya now Natalya, you could be going out with a gentleman like me, but you chose the guy who thinks fanny packs are better than purses.”

_“That’s ‘cause they are, dumbass!”_

The voice from just behind him sounded annoyed. But soon enough, the helmet had been removed to reveal the short-haired blonde sitting there with a pair of glasses resting on the bridge of his nose. 

At the comment that was made by the albino, it wasn’t long until Monika had approached him quickly and wrapped her arms around his shoulders; squeezing them tightly as the man let out a yelp while sitting in his seat. Monika looked up at Natalya with a serious expression, “Since you’re technically the Princess of the magic dimension, all you have to do is say the word and I’ll send him and his creepy nuts to another dimension.”

“Ouch,” Gilbert looked over at Monika, gasping as he clutched to his chest, “Even if I’m your big brother?”

“I don’t care,” Monika rose a brow, “I may be your little sister, but I can still beat your ass any day.”

The two siblings' bickering resulted in chuckles coming from the group of fairies. However, for Natalya, there was one thing that mattered to her at that moment. 

She stepped away from Florentyna’s side and approached the blonde who seemed to be frustrated over losing the small race he had going on with Gilbert. 

Alfred was always wanting to be the best. There was something about guys being so competitive with one another, she personally never understood it.

It seemed to have bad to the point that when she had approached him and reached over to touch his shoulders, that was when Alfred began with his pouting at her.

“Hey, babe—“ He began, clearly distraught as he avoided eye contact, “You don’t think I’m weird for thinking fanny packs are cool, right? Like come on, it’s being held by a belt, and you can put anything you want into it while still having your shoulders for anything you want, and—“ 

A chuckle came from Natalya then she heard this. Did he really have to be like this over a stupid little fight? 

The hands that were on his shoulders slowly were brought up to his cheeks where she had kept his face in place so he could look at her. Despite keeping him in place, he continued on with his little rant, “This whole race was stupid, I just wanted to show up with you thinkin’ your boyfriend’s pretty cool for winning a race and I—“

Within seconds, the man was silenced upon feeling her lips being pressed against his in a deep, loving kiss. 

Sometimes she did this as a greeting. In this case, she was doing it to get him to shut up and calm down. 

As the kiss was exchanged, Alfred indeed calmed himself down and sat there on the bike, where his hands slowly began to creep around her waist. There was something about seeing a lover after not seeing them for a while. The last time the two had seen each other was when they had gone on a date back on Earth a few weeks ago - that was it. 

But then, he was called back to his Kingdom. After all, the agreement he had with his family was that during the school year, he was at school. But during the summer, he was serving his royal title as a Prince. 

“Alright alright, can you two exchange saliva somewhere else?” Mei couldn’t help but burst out laughing seeing the two in the heat of the moment.

“Shhh!” Florentyna reached over to cover Mei’s mouth, “You’ll ruin the _moment!”_

Even if they were having a moment, it wasn’t over when the two had parted from the kiss. Natalya had looked up; her cheeks a bit red from blushing, but she kept herself together as she slowly ran her fingers through the other’s locks of blonde hair, “…I don’t think it’s weird to wear a fanny pack. My dad wears one when we go camping.”

“SEE!” Alfred looked at Gilbert; a large smirk on his face as he wrapped his arms around Natalya. The gesture was unexpected, but Natalya stood there in place as Alfred kept her close. It was almost as if he had been protective of the girl, “You may think it’s weird, but she agrees.” He paused for a moment and sat up, "Also, don’t ever hit on my girlfriend again, or I’ll actually cut your nuts off.”

“I WAS JUST JOKING-“ There was a sense of panic and fear that had come from Gilbert when he had said this, resulting in his hands to be held up, “I’m sorry, Natalya. You know I was only messin’ around with ya. It’s kind of funny seeing how Alfred gets all protective of you.”

“I forgive you,” She responded, though was silent for a few moments before speaking, “ _…For now.”_

“You better lock your doors tonight,” Mei looked at Gilbert, laughing to herself, “Natalya’s going to be hiding underneath your bed ready with a machete to ruin your life.”

“I wish I have a machete,” There was a small pout that came from Natalya as she turned her head away, “But I’m not allowed to have one…”

“…Why?” Gilbert couldn’t help but ask nervously.

“Because I know how to use one,” Natalya responded with no hesitation, indeed bringing fear straight to Gilbert’s face. Her expression was serious, but soon enough she had broken into laughter because the overall situation was funny, “But seriously, it’s okay. I forgive you. What _I_ want to know though is what the hell are you two doing here? Don’t you guys have special training for being third years?”

“Well, yeah,” Alfred nodded and pulled his arms back from her, now lowering his hands down to capture hers into his, “But I wanted to see you. I didn’t know if I should come and surprise you, but then Florentyna texted me about some sort of party going on today at Lenfia,”

“And _I_ wanted free food,” Gilbert said simply, which was understandable.

“What _is_ this party that everyone keeps talking about?” Natalya looked over at Florentyna since she had expected that she would be the one to know more about it, “All I heard about was a welcome ceremony. That’s it.” 

“Same here,” Monika crossed her arms after stepping away from Gilbert, “Is there something going on that we don’t know?”

“Well~” Florentyna hummed to herself, motioning for the group to follow her as she began walking towards the gates of the college, “If you want to find out, you have to come to watch the welcome ceremony.”

Something about that one statement being given by Florentyna didn’t sound right at all to the group. However, seeing that they were all curious about what this ‘party’ was, everyone had begun to follow. Alfred and Gilbert had parked their bikes at the gates of the school before soon, everyone had walked over to where a stage had been set up in the middle of the campus.

In front of the stage had been hundreds of students. From recently risen second and third years, to brand new first-year fairies that had been beginning their journeys as fairies for the first time. There was a guest section for parents and families to attend, thus resulting in the group of fairies to split from the guys so they could be seated with their class.

On the stage consisted all of the administrators of the school. All the Professors that most second and third year fairies knew of, from Professors to administrators, while in the front had been a podium where it was expected that Headmistress Radella would be speaking on the university’s behalf.

It wasn’t long until the Headmistress had entered the stage. Upon her arrival, clapping had ensued from the audience to welcome her.

Just as always, she had a powerful aura to her. She was on the older side, but she was a very strong woman who like a fairy looked forward to teaching what she knew to new fairies on Lenfia’s campus. Her hair had been pulled half-way back with a barrette, while she had been wearing a white blazer and skirt to express her professionalism at the moment. She wore a pair of glasses, which allowed her to scan through the audience and at least make eye contact with those who she was familiar with.

A smile was on her face as the clapping began to die down. And so, Radella had leaned towards the microphone of the podium to speak, “Thank you,” She spoke at first, “Thank you to everyone who could come out on this beautiful move-in day here at Lenfia. I’m sure we can all agree that having our entire Lenfia family here together once again is a great start to a new school year, especially now that we are welcoming all of our newest students.”

It was indeed a good feeling to be back there. For not only returning fairies, but there was a positive aura there for the first-year fairies that this was a safe environment to be in.

“Now then, I’d like to begin this welcome ceremony by touching back to what had taken place earlier in the year,” Radella continued onwards with her speech, “This being in reference to the invasion being held by the descendants of the ancestral witches. Due to what had happened, Lenfia College had to go through a lot of changes - including remodeling to better satisfy the safeties of all students here.”

Hearing these words did bring uncomfortable feelings to the second and third-year fairies. After all, while the school year did end early because of the attacks and they were all now safe, the witch invasion was one that would remain in the history books.

The attacks all began when the witches had managed to discover something before anything else - which had been that the last Princess of the Braginsky family had been alive. With this one piece of information, it was enough for them to raid her on Earth and attempt to steal the dragon flame and heart of ice, in order to continue on a mission that their ancestors hadn’t been able to do years ago.

With the powers, they had the intention of raising an army consisting of creatures called the ‘decay’. This army not only brought destruction to the magical dimension but the capital city of the planet, Magix, had to undergo an emergency evacuation. Those who had stayed and fight mainly consisted of student fairies of Lenfia College, as well as hero specialists from the University of Heroics and Bravery. 

That was until a miracle had happened. 

The miracle was able to stop the witches, restore the dimension, and bring peace to all magical beings once again while sending off the witches to be punished under strict care.

“In a moment, we’ll be unveiling one of the newest halls that we have been keeping a secret from everyone all this summer,” Radella explained before clapping her hands. With this one clap, a bright light had came from her and flew in the direction behind where the audience had been, revealing what had been a new building shielded by a tarp. 

This was a surprise to everyone. Especially since no one had expected to see it there. Had it been invisible all along?

Seeing the reactions from the audience had Radella chuckle to herself, before soon, she leaned forward and continued with her explanation, “This wing will be named in honor of a very brave fairy. And I say this from the bottom of my heart, that we all wouldn’t be here without her.”

If there was one thing that Natalya absolutely hated, it was being stared at. 

Unfortunately for her, the second this was said by the headmistress, she swore she could feel every pair of eyes right on her back from the audience. Let alone, she could feel her friends staring at her, since everyone knew _exactly_ what the Headmistress had been referring to. 

Even Radella herself had been staring right at her as she held her head down in embarrassment.

_ “…Natalya Arlovskaya, would you please join me up here?” _

Hearing her name being said out loud had her look immediately up in the direction of the Headmistress. Oh no, she did _not_ want to be the center of attention at that moment. It was already a surprise that there was a new building becoming part of the college. But now that it had something to do with her!?

This just showed she hadn’t adjusted to the fact that she was a Princess.

But, there was something that Natalya didn’t like about hearing the statement at all. Her being the one to defeat the witches? 

No, it wasn’t just her. If anything, she believed it was everyone there on campus who had worked together to stop them. She knew she couldn’t have everyone join her on stage, thus having her look over at her friends and whisper quickly, “Can you guys join me? I didn’t do it all by myself, you know.”

“Are you sure?” Mei’s eyes widened hearing the suggestion.

However, upon hearing this statement, Florentyna had already wrapped her arm around Natalya’s and begun guiding her up towards the stage where the Headmistress and administrators had been waiting for them, “She asked, so if she wasn’t sure, why wouldn’t she?”

One by one, each girl had stepped up to the stage. Of course, being in front of a crowd was no problem at all for the group. Especially for Florentyna, who had waved at the crowd with a large smile on her face with pride. 

The Headmistress was surprised to see that it wasn’t just Natalya joining them. Seeing that she had brought up not just herself, but her friends, indeed brought a bit of warmth to her heart. It showed that despite everything that had happened, she didn’t want to take all the credit. The connection she had with her friends, as well as the fact that she wanted to acknowledge they helped out in the battle as well, showed that she wanted to share that moment of accomplishment.

Radella reached over and placed a hand against Natalya’s shoulder, giving it a small squeeze as the girl looked over at her. The smile on her face was enough to indicate how proud she was of the fairy, before soon she pulled back and turned her attention to the microphone on the podium once the clapping from the audience had calmed down, “Now then,” She motioned over to the tarp that shielded the new area of the school, “I suppose there’s no more time to waste. Lower the magic tarp, please,”

The administrators who seemed to have been sitting down in their seats all stood up on the podium. All of them had joined their hands together, before soon a bright orb of magic had gone flying to the tarp that covered the new area of the school, releasing it. Within seconds, the tarp had begun to vanish in thin air, revealing the beautiful new tower that had become the newest addition to the university.

Clapping ensued from the audience upon its reveal. Radella of course, kept her smile as she continued speaking in between the clapping, “This new wing will be serving primarily for laboratory research on the history of the magical dimension. All students, regardless of their year and skill level, will have permission to study artifacts to learn more of how our dimension has become what it is today. We will be calling this wing the Braginsky wing in honor of Natalya’s family giving us an amazing, powerful young woman as she is.”

Natalya’s jaw had dropped open upon hearing the name of the new wing. Hearing her true last name being used was still weird to her, but the fact that the Headmistress and the administration had led to the decision of creating a laboratory in the dedication to the history of the magic dimension?

She was astonished. As a first-year when she was first trying to better understand the dragon flame and heart of ice, she wasn’t allowed at all in restricted areas due to her year and level as a fairy. Now, Radella had taken the decision to allow all fairies to look over restricted archives.

It was after all, important that all students knew and understood how their world came to.

Clapping from the audience ensued after the reveal. Though what had managed to get the clapping to become even louder was when the speech was ended by Radella, who cleared her throat, “And with that, I’d like to allow all students to enjoy a party on campus as a celebration for this new building. I look forward to having an amazing year with you all.”

That was when it all clicked. 

Natalya looked over at Florentyna, who had the biggest smug on her face the second the party was brought up. So there _was_ indeed a party planned… Yet, no one knew of it until now.

Stepping off of the stage, it wasn’t long until someone had spoken out, “So you knew about the party, didn’t you, Florentyna?” Monika was the first to ask with a suspicious look to her face.

Small gigging came from Florentyna as she turned to face the group, holding her hands up in a small shrug innocently, “I mean, the Headmistress did ask me to help around with some things~ Not that it matters now anyway, because now you guys know what’s been planned this entire summer.”

“Wait,” Mei interrupted while they all approached where they were once standing with the second-year students, “ _Entire_ summer?”

“Yup!” Florentyna admitted since she didn’t see the reason to hide it any further, “The renovations were decided about a week after everyone had moved out. The Headmistress actually sent me a letter asking if I could come to Lenfia without telling anyone to help plan a celebration for a new building, andddd… Here we are.”

“So that’s why you were freaking out about what to wear,” Natalya rolled her eyes, clearly not surprised at all, “Typical.”

It was indeed a surprise that there was a celebration to be held for the new building. It made sense. However, the fact that no one knew and Florentyna had been part of it all along was a surprise no one expected. It was more than just her assisting with the planning of it.

She had planned to not only be the one to bring Natalya to the welcome ceremony, but she was also the one who assisted with decorations, inviting the guys over, as well as providing ideas to the administrators on how to make the building resemble Natalya and her family as best as it could be. 

While her family was very powerful rulers, apparently, they were researchers as well, according to Radella. 

While Alyona was known to be a guardian fairy, Viktor had served primarily as a wizard who did research on potions and other items that would bring good to the safeties of every being in the magic dimension. There were many secrets that the fallen King had that only certain people knew -Radella being one of these individuals.

And thus, after seeing how dedicated Natalya was to research about the dragon flame and heart of ice last year, she decided it was time to give dedication to the college for the family. 

After all, the Braginsky’s research helped the development of the dimension.

And Alyona was once a student at Lenfia decades ago. 

The party itself wasn’t extreme, but it did have food, music, and the one thing that most students didn’t enjoy, which was adult supervision. While the majority of second and third years were way past the age of eighteen, most of the first-year students were younger, so there wasn’t a chance that the administrators would let the students get away with things that they did earlier in the year when they celebrated the defeat of the witches. 

It also allowed for current and new students to have a chance to see the building itself. The new building was beautiful and structured well, which showed it was meant for a place of studying. Even Natalya at one point had broken away at one point from her friends to go off with Alfred to explore the new area; getting a peek of the new laboratories and study rooms all students could go into.

She wished she had this when she was the first year. But now as a second year, she could see herself frequently taking trips to the building. She was still on that journey of self-reflection and figuring out where her family was, so perhaps that new building would be a good starting point of where she could find them.

The celebration lasted for a few hours. Everyone enjoyed themselves; dancing along to music, eating food, and catching up with one another after a very long summer. Despite there being visits to each other during the summer, this was the first time that everyone had been together again. 

It was a great feeling. For Natalya, she never went to parties on Earth growing up. So to have the opportunity to attend a party with people that were important to her completely changed that entire mindset.

It was around nine in the evening when the party had come to a conclusion. Both Alfred and Gilbert had to get back due to there being a curfew that evening for all leaders of Magix’s colleges wanting to make sure students were prepared for the new semester the following day.

A new semester with new classes, which meant for the preparation of a semester where a lot of work would be taking place. 

Everyone had stood at the gate when waving off to the men as they rode off on their bikes. Natalya had her back resting against the entrance of the gate; a small smile drawn to her lips since it was indeed a lot of fun today. She thought she wouldn’t be able to handle a party and celebration after a long morning of moving in, but she supposed that changed the second she found out that Alfred would be attending in support of her. 

“Come on, we should go and get ready for tomorrow,” Tatyana spoke up after both Gilbert and Alfred had left. She already had turned herself around to walk back into the main campus of the school, “We’ve all got 9 ams too.”

“Augh, I forgot that we have to take a second-year seminar at 9 am,” Florentyna let out a small whine at the reminder, to the point where she had rested her head against Tatyana’s shoulders as they walked, “And I haven’t even finished unpacking…”

Unpacking was what they all had to do. Natalya chuckled hearing Florentyna’s whining since that was the usual from her. She turned around to follow Tatyana and Florentyna with Monika and Mei beside her.

Though as they were walking, she heard something.

_There’s a disturbance in the East Woods. Someone’s injured._

The voice had her stop right in the middle of her tracks. As she listened, her eyes widened from being startled. 

‘ _Mama?… What do you mean?’_

_Turn around, Natasha. A girl. She’s hurt and needs help, now._

“Natalya?” A hand was placed on the girl’s shoulder as Monika spoke out, immediately noticing the change of behavior that was coming from the other, “You okay?”

No… Something wasn’t okay. Usually getting messages in her head of her mother’s voice was never a good sign at all. It was to the point that everyone had turned around seeing Natalya stand there, before she turned around in silence and began running toward the direction of the woods in front of Lenfia’s entrance.

“What the hell-?!” Florentyna noticed Natalya sprinting, thus pulling back from Tatyana to chase after her, “Wait up! Natalya!”

“What is she doing!?” Mei followed-up in response to Florentyna, just as equally confused as her.

The confusion was understandable, but there was no time to explain. All she knew was that she had to hurry. If someone was hurt, as the voice was telling her, Natalya felt her instincts kick into full gear. 

That was how the dragon flame and heart of ice worked. While she was the sole possessor of it, her powers controlled her in situations where she needed to help those in need.

At the entrance of the woods, Natalya looked up and examined the area. She couldn’t see anything at all, other than hear the wind brushing against the leaves of trees. Was… It a joke?

Or was it not?

Panting could be heard from a distance. It wasn’t normal panting, but heavy panting as footsteps were being heard. Natalya stood there with her eyes widened, since hearing _that_ was the last thing she needed for today. First having a psychic reading, then Florentyna’s surprise with the Headmistress, and now _this!?_

The more the panting and walking came closer, it was there that she was able to see a shadow walking towards them.

“Over here!” Natalya called out, noticing Florentyna and Mei being the first ones to catch up to her while Tatyana and Monika were behind, “There’s someone here - my powers were telling me that there’s someone coming.”

“Who!?” Monika called out, approaching the blonde while panting to herself to catch her breath from the sudden sprinting.

Tree branches were pushed apart as the figure that lingered in the shadows was revealed, leaving the group of five fairies in shock.

It was… A normal girl. 

A girl with beautiful long brown hair, green eyes, pale skin, and seemed to have been in traveling attire. She had been wearing a pink jacket with a hood, a pair of cargo pants, black boots. In addition, she was bleeding. 

Her arms were scratched up; blood trickling down her shoulders as mud-covered her hands. She was dripping wet, her eyes were full of tears as she looked up and noticed the group of girls before violently beginning to shake.

“P-Please…d-d-don’t…h-hurt me…” The woman had whimpered in a crying tone, “P-please…”

“Hey, everything’s okay, we’re not going to hurt you-“ Natalya spoke out, holding her arms out noticing how violently the girl was shaking. She looked over at her friends, unsure of how to react, “We have to call the infirmary - we need help.” 

“I’m on it,” Tatyana nodded the second she heard this and turned herself around, beginning to sprint directly back to the gates of the campus. Help was what they needed since it seemed to be a bigger medical emergency than it was.

As Tatyana was off, the rest of the group kept their distance from the girl. She looked absolutely traumatized… It was as if something had happened to the point where she was left in this position. Though what no one was expecting was that after a moment where she spoke, the woman soon had closed her eyes and dropped directly to the ground.

“Holy shit-!” Mei gasped and rushed over; diving directly onto her knees to catch the girl so she wouldn’t take a huge hit to the ground. 

Fortunately for her, she had made the landing as the woman’s body was caught by Mei with her arms. Natalya rushed over and helped Mei lower the other slowly to the ground, now giving a chance for them to examine her as they waited for the nurse from the infirmary. 

“Who is she?” Mei looked at the girl who was unconscious at this point, all while Natalya had placed her fingers gently on the girl’s neck to see if she was still breathing. 

A small sigh of relief came from Natalya seeing that she could still detect a pulse. Based on the amount of blood and wounds that were on her, she had no idea what had happened, “I have no idea… Was she attacked by a bear?”

“Only magical bears exist in this dimension,” Monika said simply and reached into her pocket to pull out her phone, “But they don’t attack other magical beings. I wonder…” As she said this, a small hum came from her as she pressed a button on her phone. From there, a light formed from it - startling the group at first before she had soon shined the light over the girl’s body.

It was a scan. The light slowly scanned the girl’s body, then her face, before beeping out from the phone to let her know that the scan was complete. Monika glanced down at the information that was being provided to her, before soon, her eyes widened at what she was reading.

“She’s… She’s a Princess!” Monika looked down at the girl again with her eyes widened, “A Princess from the Planet of Atlantic, the realm of all tides and water.”

“What the heck is a Princess doing all the way here this hurt?” Mei responded and looked down at the girl; a frown on her face, “She looks like she was almost killed.” As she spoke, she had adjusted her hand slightly to support the girl’s head until the nurse could arrive. 

However, adjusting her hand had come with an additional surprise.

Inside the girl’s hood, what sounded like quiet wailing began similar to a baby. 

Everyone had looked right where Mei had been kneeling, thinking it was her. She looked up and shook her head, “What’s that?”

“It sounds like a baby!” Florentyna immediately began and knelt down, looking around to see if they could spot the source.

No one could see anything. The sounds of the crying only continued, which had the group panic even more. Natalya though soon found herself looking down at the girl who was fast asleep.

_Inside her hood, Natasha. Be gentle._

“…Inside her hood?” Natalya whispered and lifted the girl’s hair to notice the hood of her jacket. Reaching in gently, her eyes widened as she felt something and grasped onto it gently where she had pulled out what she never expected to see.

“What the-“ Monika gasped.

“I-It’s a Pixie!” Florentyna covered her mouth to immediately silence herself realizing that it was crying, “A baby Pixie!”

“Shut up,” Natalya looked over at Florentyna and Monika hearing them talk, before kneeling there with the Pixie who continued to cry in her hands. She had no idea what to do since she never handled babies before. Let alone, a baby _Pixie_ as a matter of fact. All she could think of was slowly swaying it in her hands, shushing it gently, “Shh, it’s okay… You’re safe, no one is going to hurt you.”

Hearing the soothing voice that had come from Natalya had the Pixie look up at the fairy with widened eyes. Her eyes were full of tears, but soon enough, she had closed them and rested her head against the girl’s palms, “L-Lizzy…” It had whimpered out, before soon enough, beginning to doze off to sleep as if it hadn’t been crying in the first place.

Relief managed to come from Natalya when she noticed the baby Pixie fall asleep. However, she didn’t know that Pixies, especially a baby, would fall asleep that quickly.

And then it all clicked.

“Wait a second…” Natalya held onto the Pixie gently in her hands, not moving so it could rest as she looked up at the others, “It’s… Just like that psychic Pixie told me earlier.”

“…Psychic what?” Monika began.

“You saw a psychic?” Florentyna followed-up in confusion.

“Yes,” Natalya stood up and brought the Pixie close to her chest. It was at this point, the Pixie was fast asleep; suckling on its thumb while occasionally letting out a small sniffle or two. Though as it rested, it indeed felt safe and warm close to the fairy, “ _A fairy Princess with beautiful long brown hair, and this Princess will have a sleeping baby Pixie with her, will appear._ It’s exactly the same description. This is the girl, and this is the baby Pixie-“

“That’s crazy…” Mei continued to kneel while slowly running her fingers through the unconscious girl’s hair, “What else did she tell you, Natalya?”

As the question was being asked, the sounds of running could be heard behind them. The group glanced up, only to see Tatyana running back with the nurse of the college, as well as two assistants in the middle of pushing a stretcher in their direction. 

Natalya looked down at the Pixie and swallowed nervously. If the psychic was right about this girl, did that mean she was right about everything else she had told her? 

“…The psychic told me that there will be a new journey that we’ll be experiencing soon, with a darkness that we’ve all _never_ seen before…” She began; frowning at the thought of it because it would all begin once she had found this girl and Pixie.

“…and that _I_ might be in danger.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! We've made it to Chapter 1! (Woohoo!)
> 
> I'm so excited to continue on with this story in part 2. This chapter mainly focuses on getting back to the routine after such an intense battle in the first part. 
> 
> I'm also very looking forward to talking more about mystery girl's (Elizabeta) backstory~ She's very important in this part, but things will definitely get twisty at around chapters 8-10. 
> 
> I also want to plan on releasing a chapter once a week. Since I do go back to grad school at the beginning of September, I'm going to try my best to get at least 2 chapters up a week. But for now because of my schedule, please plan for at least a release of a chapter per weekend.
> 
> Chapter 2 will be up on 8/1/2020. However, if something changes (where I upload it earlier), keep your eyes out as that may be the case!
> 
> See you then! <3


	3. The Princess of Atlantic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the question was being asked, the sounds of running could be heard behind them. The group glanced up, only to see Tatyana running back with the nurse of the college, as well as two assistants in the middle of pushing a stretcher in their direction.
> 
> Natalya looked down at the Pixie and swallowed nervously. If the psychic was right about this girl, did that mean she was right about everything else she had told her?
> 
> “…The psychic told me that there will be a new journey that we’ll be experiencing soon, with a darkness that we’ve all never seen before…” She began; frowning at the thought of it because it would all begin once she had found this girl and Pixie.
> 
> “…and that I might be in danger.”

The evening was much more intense than it was. After a beautiful celebration hosted by the administrators of the school, no one had expected that a young woman would be brought onto the campus through a stretcher. 

Let alone, the group that had found her didn’t have permission to follow the nurse and her assistants to the infirmary. They were all dismissed, where the door of the infirmary was closed with the order of returning to their suite immediately. 

The young woman had been brought in for treatment. Not only were her wounds taken care of and bandaged, but she had been placed into a comfortable bed with an IV in her arm to provide her fluids. All that the nurse could diagnose there was that she was very exhausted and dehydrated.

As for when she would wake up - it remained a mystery.

Alas, the girls who were dismissed were not happy at all to hear that they wouldn’t be able to know how the mystery girl was doing. Let alone, the Pixie was also taken into the nurse’s care, where the nurse had promised she would take care of it by giving it what it needed. It was a baby, and with baby Pixies, they apparently needed more care than one may think.

“Try to relax,” Tatyana whispered to the group as they all had walked into the suite. Everyone was tense from the situation, which out of her kind nature, she wanted to at least try and figure it out, “They’re all medical professionals, so they’ll take care of her and the Pixie.”

“But it’s bullcrap!” Florentyna shot a look at the other. Her arms were crossed as the door to the suite was locked shut, leaving for Monika to turn on one of the light switches, “We found her, we should at least have a right to know if she’s okay.”

“I agree,” Mei followed-up and sat down in one of the chairs in the living room, “She’s all by herself. The poor girl may freak out seeing all these medical people prodding at her,”

Hearing the bickering and disappointment from Mei and Florentyna had Natalya sigh in frustration, “Would two calm down?” She began, getting them both to go quiet hearing the other speak up. She was just as tense, but she kept calm for the sake of not wanting to worry anyone, “You both are acting like she’s some sort of experiment. They’re taking care of her. Plus, the nurse said we’re welcome to come to see her and the Pixie in the morning.”

“Natalya’s right, you know,” Monika had stepped into the living room with a bottle of water. She had sat herself down in the seat beside Mei, before taking a sip out of the water and swallowing, “She’s being very well taken care of.”

“But…” Natalya interrupted, “There’s something that’s bothering me about it.”

Silence filled the air when she said this. It was vague, which had Natalya approach the couch and take a seat as well. 

Since leaving that meeting with the psychic, she didn’t think of it as anything. She thought it was amazing that she was apparently going to have a good future with the ones she cared and loved about, but she didn’t think that when the Pixie said she’d meet a girl with a baby Pixie - she didn’t imagine it being so soon. Then there was the addition of a dark force being involved with the girl…

…How else was she supposed to feel?

“If the psychic Pixie was right just like she was right now,” Natalya began in explanation, “Then that girl really went through something fucked up. And I’m not meaning a ‘little bad’, I mean, really fucked up to the point where she was bleeding and unconscious. What if this dark force the psychic told me earlier is after her?”

“Then we be on our guard,” Monika nodded in agreement, acknowledging the other’s concerns. However as she sat there, she had reached for her phone and rose a brow, “Speaking of, right now what we should be worried about is the fact that it’s already 2 am. We spent way too long in that infirmary and we have class at 9 in the morning.”

“My sleep schedule was never normal this summer,” Mei admitted with a chuckle, resulting in a bit of snickering from Natalya.

“What is a sleep schedule ever normal when you’re in college?” Natalya responded since it was indeed true. She was staying up way past midnight back on Earth before she even began going to Lenfia College to read. It was still the same thing, “Tomorrow, I have a class after the seminar, so I can’t come until after.”

“—That’s right!” Florentyna gasped and looked over at the other, “I’m in that class with you, Natty! It’s the cool effects class!”

“Cool effects?” Tatyana tilted her head in confusion.

“It’s not cool effects,” Natalya clarified and narrowed her brows at Florentyna, “It’s a class that basically focuses on the differences between using light and dark magic with the same spells. At one point the class gets to take a field trip to the Tower of the Dead to sit in a lecture, and I’m kind of curious to see what would happen.”

“How the heck did you get into a class like that?” As this was said, Mei sat up from her seat.

“I talked to my advisor,” Natalya responded simply.

“I needed an elective to fill my schedule,” Florentyna answered with a smirk on her face as she approached Natalya and wrapped an arm around her, “So when I asked Natalya what classes she was taking, I just registered myself in it.”

“…Have fun with that,” Tatyana responded, clearly not liking the idea of a dark-based class. She shook her head and crossed her arms, “Back to our conversation, I can go check on the girl after the seminar. I’m really worried about her, so I can be with her and wait for you guys until your out of your light-dark class.”

“I’ll join ya too,” Mei commented, “I don’t have anything after the seminar class.”

“I’ve got a lab after the seminar,” Monika couldn’t help but sigh as she said this aloud, “Potions lab, so I’ll be still in it when Natalya and Florentyna get out of their lecture. But I’ll join with you guys after since I actually am curious to learn more about this girl.”

A nod of agreement was exchanged by everyone at the party. Now that they had a plan on how they would proceed for tomorrow, the decision of going to bed was made easier. One by one, the young women had exchanged their goodnights before returning to each of their rooms to go to bed. 

The issue was that it was _already_ tomorrow. They had classes in the early morning, and with it already being so late, it wasn’t going to be pleasant having to wake up very early.

And pleasant was nowhere near how a majority of them were feeling by the time morning had arrived. Having to wake up for class early entailed also having to wake up earlier to get dressed, as well as beat the line for breakfast at the dining hall so no one would be late. 

For Florentyna, waking up early wasn’t an issue for her at all. Watching the sunset as a child was only part of her nature as a fairy of the sun. Though for those who were more of night owls, this being Natalya especially, did not wake up with the energy that she had. 

The breakfast line was always chaotic for students. This was something that hadn’t changed since being first years. Unfortunately for the first years that were beginning classes for the first time, they all had to deal with it the hard way when there were lines of third and second years waiting to grab their breakfast to either sit down and eat or eat while rushing to class. 

This was the case for the majority of second years who were all rushing to attend a seminar that was meant for all students. This had meant that it was a seminar that would take place in one of the larger lecture halls. So while breakfast had to be secured, everyone had to have a seat in order to participate in the lecture, which was to be held by Headmistress Radella herself. 

It was always as such. Every year had a seminar - first, second, and third years. Throughout those three years at Lenfia, it would be Radella being the one teaching the course as it was specifically on the development as fairies. 

While the majority of the group had been exhausted, Radella didn’t seem to have taken notice. Instead, she had begun the seminar by welcoming the students back with a presentation with the expectations of what should be accomplished by the end of the year.

“Welcome back to every one of you. I’m so happy to see all of your familiar faces back here at Lenfia’s campus,” The Headmistress began as she stood in front of the lecture; a proud smile drawn to her lips. Each fairy - even though there was up to a hundred of them, she had all recognized. Seeing fairies continue on their training and development to serve the dimension was what she loved to see, “I’d like to begin this seminar by discussing the expectations of what will be done during this year.”

As she said this, she had snapped her fingers where the lecture had turned to the next slide. It was more information, but enough to give an idea to the students of what they’d be allowed to do.

“As second-year students, you will all have the opportunity to do much more than you got to experience during your first year,” Radella explained while pacing slowly back and forth, “This year, you will be able to not only take courses that target to what you want to do in the future as fairies, but you also will be able to take on combat one on ones with stronger enemies and take on missions as teams. This means on occasion as well, you may have the chance to attend a mission with the heroes from UHB.”

This being said had managed to gather the attention of the fairies who sat there. Even though she was dating someone from UHB, Natalya had been dozed off asleep. She had rested her head against Florentyna’s shoulder; breathing softly as she rested.

“Natty, did you hear that?” Florentyna had shaken her awake for the sake of her not getting in trouble, “We may be able to take on missions with Alfred, Gilbert, and their team.”

“Cool…” There was another yawn that came from Natalya when she heard this. She sat up, fixing her posture and rubbing her eyes, “Is the seminar over yet?”

“Shh.” Tatyana brought her finger up to her lips to get the others to silence, “I wanna listen to what she has to say.”

“—In addition to taking on missions,” The Headmistress snapped her fingers once more, transitioning to the next slide again in her lecture. This time, the information presented had focused specifically on the use of magic, “I’d like to connect back to what was discussed during your first year, and how for every fairy, there are stages that we experience. The first stage is unlocking your power and connecting to your Charmix. This year, you shall be entering your second phase of development, which is where you as a fairy must connect with your true self.”

Silence came from the audience. Mostly from confusion from what the Headmistress had been talking about. Even Monika had leaned over and whispered to the group, “What’s that supposed to mean? Isn’t connecting to yourself what unlocking your Charmix is all about?”

“We refer to you unlocking your true self as your Charmix,” Radella had motioned to the lecture, where it had the image of a young child being born as a fairy. Soon, the image had transitioned to the same fairy, though this time, seeming to radiate stronger powers, “However, what is important is that you learn how to trust and connect yourself. You may find it easy to trust others, but that lingers the question of do _you_ trust _yourself?”_

“Ooh…” Mei leaned forward in interest, “I never thought about that…”

“Imagine this. You’re in an intense situation where you must take on a large, foul beast,” The Headmistress had snapped her fingers, where soon, what seemed to be an illusion of a large creature forming in the middle of the lecture hall. 

Screams could be heard from the audience when this was done - mostly from being startled at the sight. Hearing the screams had Natalya jump up, though when she had seen the monster, her eyes widened in amazement, “That’s so cool…”

“Of course _you_ think that’s cool,” Florentyna scoffed and turned her head, “You like weird creepy things.”

“And you like maxing out your credit cards,” Natalya responded simply, which had Mei gasp and Monika begin chuckling to herself. Florentyna stared at the other in shock, but instead of taking it back, Natalya had grabbed onto Florentyna’s arm and snuggled into it more, “Shh, I’m trying to sleep,” She muttered and pressed her face into the other’s shoulder, “Sit still, pillow.”

Despite the conversation that was being whispered between the friends, Radella had proceeded with her lecture, “You’re in a position where when you face this creature, you begin to doubt yourself and wonder if you’d be really able to take it on. You think perhaps with a team, you’d be able to do it. While teamwork amongst fairies is always great and I am in full support of it, the reality is that each one of you will have to tackle a beast all by yourself at some point. It’s at that time where you have to be fully in trust of yourself. Once you have that trust with yourself, your powers will evolve into what I like to call the Heart of Charmix.” 

Students who had been sitting in their seats found themselves amazed at the explanation. Even some had leaned over in their seats to hear more from what the Headmistress had to say. With another snap of her fingers, the slide changed once more to the same fairy present with magic surrounding her, all while the illusion of a beast had disappeared in thin air.

“There will be no changes in transformation, other than the fact that you will be able to use much more powerful magic than ever before,” The Headmistress explained while scanning the audience, “This change of your Charmix will prepare you for your third year, which is when we will begin the process of helping you all unlock your final transformations before you graduate and are sent off to serve as guardian fairies of the dimension.”

The remainder of the seminar was very informative. There were points where the Headmistress had to give reminders of the expectations that were to be held during the two semesters, but it was usual information that the majority of the students already knew. 

It was about an hour after the seminar had begun that it had soon come to an end. While Tatyana and Mei did not have class, Natalya, Florentyna, and Monika had classes that they had to attend to. 

The group had split amongst themselves with Natalya and Florentyna going to their class together, Monika going to her lab, and Tatyana and Mei going together to the infirmary to check on the mysterious woman and baby Pixie that had shown up unexpectedly the night before.

Despite it being later in the morning, this didn’t change the fact that Natalya was still exhausted. Walking into her next class with Florentyna, she had attempted to keep herself awake by eating the remainder of her breakfast that she couldn’t finish earlier. This being a breakfast sandwich, which instead of keeping her awake, it only made her want to take a nap.

The class for the differences between dark and light had been instructed by a Professor the two girls already had very well known. Professor Keldan, a sorcerer from a realm that focused on transformations and metamorphosis, had been teaching the class the differences between magic. He specialized at Lenfia with the evolution of fairies, with their transformations changing over their years with the enhancement of their powers.

The Professor looked over the class as he sat at his desk. He was smirking, indeed recognizing the majority of the class as the class consisted of specifically second and third years. He cleared his throat once all the seats were filled and the famous tune that came from the speaker of the school to signify that classes were now all in session.

“Welcome back, ladies,” He had stood up now and approached the front of the classroom, “It’s good to see each and every one of your familiar faces. I hope you all had a good summer. Now, I don’t think we need introductions,” The Professor explained and began pacing back and forth through the rows of the seats.

Anytime he had passed Natalya of course, she had kept herself still in order to prevent herself from falling asleep.

“This class as you may have been told by your advisor is specifically focusing on the differences of how light and dark magic are used,” He explained before pointing a hand towards the lecture board. There, magic-filled the palm of his hand before being sent at the direction of the board, where a lecture was presented, “We are all beings of light. Fairies use light magic. We usually associate those who use dark magic with witches or warlocks. For myself, being a sorcerer, I specialize in both.”

As he said this, he had approached the front of the room once more, continuing on with his lecture, “Did you know that dark magic isn’t as bad as it seems? You all may be fairies of light, but deep on the inside, we have a little dark magic within us. It’s only bad if you pursue to use it for the wrong things. We refer to our darker sides as our opposites.”

The information that was being provided in the class was very interesting. Even Florentyna had been curious to hear more about it. Though for Natalya, she had begun slouching slightly in her seat as she yawned softly. It was hard to keep her eyes open… It was always like this back when she was in high school. If she stayed up late, she wouldn’t be able to function properly the next day.

She knew once that the school year got along, she’d be able to fix her sleep schedule more. But for now, where her sleep schedule was messed up for the entire summer, she felt like she had just gotten off a flight from America and was twelve hours behind in jetlag. And she traveled a lot back home with her family in Russia - jetlag was her weakness.

“With every good force, there’s an evil force,” The Professor had snapped his fingers, resulting in the next slide of the lecture to be an image. This image had been of a circle with one side of it being bright, while the other was in darkness, “And you may not even know that it’s there. All forces exist in direct connection to their opposite. For example, take this sphere of magic.”

As he had said this, he had held out his hand to the class. His hand had been in the shape as if it were carrying an orb… 

…But alas, there was nothing in it. It had been just his hand weirdly shaped.

“Notice how the sphere of magic begins quivering,” The Professor continued, “That it wants to jump out, but it can’t.”

“Uh, Professor,” Florentyna rose her hand, “I don’t see anything.”

Laughter erupted from the class when this was said aloud. Even the Professor, who had been smirking, chuckled along with the statement before looking over at Florentyna, “Of course you can’t see it. You’re a being of light… But if I _turn off_ the lights.” He had snapped his finger once more, resulting in all the lights to be turned off in the room.

The lights being turned off startled the class, but it now allowed for them to see that he was indeed holding onto something in the first place. It was a bright orb of magic that radiated with power the second the darkness had filled the room. The majority of the students in the room were shocked, though, for Natalya, that one act of turning off the lights was the one thing she needed for her to lower her head down and fall asleep in her seat right away.

“Now do you see it, Florentyna?” The Professor approached her, holding the orb of light towards her. He hadn’t noticed the fact that Natalya was asleep due to how dark it was, but instead, was focused on teaching the other after hearing her question, “A sphere of dark energy. In a dark room, it becomes a ball of light.”

He squeezed his hand; the orb immediately disappearing into thin air. The lights were quickly turned back on once the spell was finished before he continued on with his lecture. 

“Anyone can see a light in a room full of darkness. But it takes a combination of strong magical power and awareness to see the darkness in a room full of light,” The Professor approached his desk and took a moment to face the class; beginning to make eye contact with each student to make sure that they were paying attention, “I know it may sound complicated, but all it takes is understanding the balance of nature in magic—“

He paused a moment upon noticing something in his class.

_“—NATALYA ARLOVSKAYA!”_

The loud tone of voice had been enough to startle Natalya awake in his seat. She shot up quickly; staring right at the Professor whose face was full of annoyance the second he had spotted that one of his students had fallen asleep. It was not only highly disrespect-able, but he was mostly shocked that it was _her_ \- a top student - falling asleep like that.

“Y-Yes Professor?” Natalya held back her yawns as she stared at him with widened eyes. Everything around her felt loopy, but if there was one thing that fully woke her up, it was _that._

“I’m astonished.” Professor Keldan had approached her desk to look directly at her. The stares were there once again from her peers, which had Natalya’s face go red in embarrassment. Of course, she just had to give in to her exhaustion and face this, “As someone with great power, _especially_ with you being the Princess of the entire Magical Dimension, I thought you would be interested in learning about how you have an opposite in your powers.”

“I am, sir.” Natalya responded and held up her hands defensively, “That’s why I chose to take this class. I genuinely am interested.”

“Alright then,” Motioning his hand toward the lecture board, the Professor had pointed out to the image that was still on the front. It was the same image of the circle with half light and half darkness before soon he had turned to face the girl with a serious expression on his face, “Tell me in a concise fashion that this circle represents, Ms. Arlovskaya.”

A concise fashion? How was she supposed to describe something like that?  


She stared at the image. In all truths, she had no idea what it meant. All she saw was that it had been a circle with dark and light in it. But somehow it had a connection with it. Though all she could think of at the moment was yesterday when Florentyna was having her fashion crisis.

“I think Florentyna may know the answer to it because I can’t figure it out, Professor,” Natalya was honest. Why lie or makeup something on the spot if she knew she was going to be wrong? “Florentyna has a concise opinion about fashion.”

Laughter immediately erupted in the classroom when she had said this. Even Florentyna had gasped and clutched onto her chest; a large smile on her face as she reached over and grasped onto Natalya’s hand, “This is why I appreciate you. See, she understands me and why fashion is one of the most important things in today’s society!”

Even if everyone had been laughing, the Professor wasn’t at all. Instead, he had approached Natalya’s seat and looked down at her with a serious expression, “I appreciate the sense of humor Ms. Arlovskaya, but the fashion you’re thinking is completely different from the representation of this circle. So, I guess that means in order to make up for your participation credit for today, you’ll have to write me a five-page paper answering the question through research, due at my office by next class,” He paused and leaned forward, “Is that a good joke? Because I think it’s hilarious.”

The second this was said aloud, Natalya’s jaw had dropped right open while the laughter in the classroom immediately stopped. No one had been expecting that at all. Even Florentyna, who stared at the Professor in shock, couldn’t even believe that he was giving her a sudden assignment on the _first day_ of classes for being honest. 

A frustrated sigh came from Natalya as annoyance filled her expression. While her workload wasn’t that bad for now, she didn’t think she’d be starting with assignments right away. She sighed and looked up at the Professor, “…Yes, Professor Keldan.”

“Good, glad that we’re in mutual understanding.” The Professor turned his back to her and snapped his fingers, moving onto the next slide of the lecture, “Now then, let’s continue with the discussion of opposites.”

The remainder of that class was probably the most frustrating thing to sit in. It was genuinely a class that she was looking forward to, but the fact that Natalya had spent the majority of the night worried about the mystery girl and Pixie, followed by not getting enough sleep, eating the breakfast sandwich, and even having lights being turned off on her face - it was all her triggers to making her more exhausted than normal. 

She knew she should’ve had at least some coffee, but she didn’t think she would’ve needed it. Now, she had the pay the consequence by starting off her first day of being a second year with embarrassing herself and being punished with a paper that she didn’t know how she was going to be able to write.

At least the class did come to an end at some point, which meant that now, she and Florentyna could visit the infirmary to check in on things.

All she could hope was that the rest of the year wouldn’t have similar incidents such as that one today.

* * *

_Everything was dark. The sounds of breathing being the only thing she could hear as she looked around frantically, trying to make a connection with a source or even a figure that was there._

_But alas, there was nothing._

_Loud laughter erupted from the distance, leaving her to begin sprinting away from the source. Her knees were shaking, she could feel the sweat pouring down her face, all while her feet were in pain from running._

_All around her body, it hurt. Upon looking at her arms, she found herself screaming to the sight of blood beginning to ooze out of the wounds that weren’t there before._

_How did they get there!?_

_She had no idea._

_“You cannot escape Shadow Haunt, little fairy.”_

_In the midst of her running, she looked down to see creatures beginning to form behind her. These creatures weren’t just normal ones - they were monsters. Members of the army of decay beginning to chase after her._

_The faster she ran, the more they began to catch up to her._

_“Hand over the Pixies! Or else, you shall meet the shadow when it grabs you.”_

_As it was said aloud, what felt like something grasping onto her filled around her body. She screamed; attempting to fight out of its grasp as the creatures of decay began to creep up closer to her._

_“It will be more terrifying than you can ever imagine.”_

* * *

The infirmary was silent upon Tatyana and Mei’s arrival. After checking in with the nurse to have permission to see the girl, Tatyana had begun to run a small heated bowl of healing herbs in the form of a potion that she had gathered from her plants. 

She figured that if the girl was still in pain from falling unconscious, hopefully, her magic through nature would be able to ease her pain and mind.

Mei sat beside Tatyana as she watched the other begin to put together the potion. In front of the two fairies, the girl that Natalya had found from the night before was fast asleep. 

As she rested, her breathing was heavy. Tatyana took notice of this as she looked over, noticing that sweat was pooling over her forehead, “Maybe she has a fever… Poor thing,” She said simply before sitting down.

With the potion in her hands, she had reached for a rag now and begun dipping into it. This rag with the soaked potion was gently run across the girl’s forehead to wipe off any sweat, as well as to help her relax if it was indeed a fever that she was experiencing. The more that the potion was applied to her, the more the girl’s breathing had calmed down and she relaxed.

_“…Nn…CeCe…”_

The muttering was unexpected. Tatyana looked over at Mei when she heard this, thinking that it was her, “Did you say something?” 

“Nope.” Mei stood up, looking directly at the girl as she noticed that she was beginning to move, “It’s her, she’s waking up.”

“…They’re…gone…” The heavy breathing began once again from her, followed by tears beginning to well up in her eyes, “CeCe…”

“It’s okay sweetie, you’re okay.” Tatyana placed the bowl down and let the rag soak into the potion. As she did so, she reached over, gently rubbing the other’s shoulder out of reassurance to get her to relax, “You’re safe.”

The new voice was something that the girl hadn’t picked up nor recognized at all. As she slowly opened her eyes, she had been expecting to see an angel… She thought she was good as dead back dealing with the Dark Lord…

…But instead, she was greeted to something else.

Her green orbs had looked up and made direct contact with the green orbs that belonged to Tatyana. Tatyana had a smile on her face when making eye contact, while Mei lingered over the other’s shoulders to stare down at the mystery girl.

“..Where’s CeCe…” She slowly began to lay up; her eyes widened now as she looked around, “CeCe? Please, I can’t lose her!- Is this still a nightmare!?”

Concerned expressions immediately filled Tatyana and Mei’s face. The two had no idea what the girl was talking about. Tatyana looked over at Mei at first wondering if she knew, before turning back to the girl with her head slightly tilted to the side, “…CeCe?”

“I don’t know about you,” Mei began while staring at the scene that was taking place, “But I think either she’s a little whacked in the head or still sleepy.”

_“I think we’re all half asleep.”_

The new voice startled both Tatyana and Mei as they remained sitting with the mysterious girl. Turning their heads around, they had been greeted to the sight of Natalya and Florentyna standing at the doorway of the room they were in. 

Florentyna’s arms were crossed as she snickered, continuing on with her statement, “You should’ve seen it.”

“Seen what?” Mei rose a brow, “How was class?”

“It was great. Professor Keldan is always great,” She smirked, “Except Natalya got busted and now has to write a report about ‘opposites’.”

“Oh shut up,” Natalya glared at the other and began to walk into the room; her expression full of annoyance, “If he didn’t turn off the lights all of the damn sudden, I wouldn’t have fallen asleep.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear you both had an interesting first day as second years,” Tatyana responded. As she spoke, she looked back at the girl, who seemed to have quieted down and was staring at her lap, “Perfect timing too. Someone woke up.”

In her eyes, tears began to stream down her cheeks. The girl clearly had no idea where she was, why she was in so much pain… But most importantly, she was so worried about the one light that gave her the motivation to keep going. 

Relief immediately filled Natalya and Florentyna’s faces upon hearing the words that came from the other’s mouth. Quickly, the two had walked over to where the girl had been laying with her head held down. She was indeed wide awake, but the horror on her expression suggested a deeper message than it seemed.

“Hey, sweetheart…” Tatyana reached over for a box of tissues that had been resting on the nightstand beside the bed. There, she had reached for a couple of tissues to help wipe away some of the girl’s tears, which were continuously streaming down her eyes, “My name’s Tatyana. I’m a fairy of nature. You’re at Lenfia College for fairies.”

“…What…” She took in a breath, calming her tears before reaching for the tissues to press against her eyes. As she did so, she winced; feeling the pain in her arms. All she had to do was take one glance at her arms to notice the bandages, now gasping, “What happened?”

“Well…” Mei leaned forward in interest, “We were kinda hopin’ you’d tell us.”

There was a nod of agreement given by Tatyana. As she did so, she kept the box of tissues in her lap so the girl could grab them as needed, “You showed up here yesterday evening very injured. Natalya was the one who actually found you… And when we brought you to the infirmary, the nurse said that your Charmix was going through PTSD.”

Her eyes had widened when she heard the mentioning of being found. Looking up, the girl had reached over and grabbed onto Tatyana’s shoulders; her eyes widen and full of fear, “Please. Please don’t let him get me.” She began with fear full in her tone of voice, “You have to keep him away. He’s going to try and kill me.”

It was at the mentioning of that, Natalya had stepped over and looked down at the girl with a serious expression to her face, “Who’s trying to kill you?” 

“Yeah,” Tatyana nodded in agreement, “There’s nobody here but us.”

Hearing the statement had the girl’s body relax. He wasn’t there… The man who had taken the Pixies in the first place, “Who… Are you guys?”

“Name’s Mei,” Mei spoke first before sitting right back down in her seat, “Fairy of music.”

“Princess Florentyna of Solis,” A smirk was given by the fairy as she said this, now holding out her hand for the girl to shake, “At your service. Also fairy of the sun.”

“Way to make a dramatic introduction,” There was a small eye-roll that came from Natalya when she said this. Soon enough, she turned her attention back to the girl and pulled Florentyna’s hand back from scaring the girl, “My name’s Natalya. Fairy of the dragon flame and heart of ice.”

Hearing this information had the girl laying in bed stare for a moment. She had looked up to see the violet-blue orbs that belonged to Natalya staring down at her with a concerned expression. 

Silence came from the girl for a moment. 

Where has she seen that girl? And why did she radiated such positive, powerful energy?

“…dragon flame and heart of ice?… Why does that sound so familiar?” And soon, she gasped and covered her mouth, “W-Wait. Are you Princess Natasha?”

Every one of the group looked right at Natalya as this was said. Though when hearing this, a small sigh came from her as she placed two fingers against her forehead out of frustration, “Here we go again…”

“O-Oh my god. Y-You’re the most powerful fairy of this dimension!” She continued on again and looked around, now beginning to process the scene of what was going on. Seeing that she was in what looked to be a care unit, it was making sense. The beds, the monitors, the signs of the importance of washing your hands… She wasn’t in the Shadow Haunt at all, “What… How, I’m so sorry, I just, I’ve heard so much about you back home. My parents were in tears when it was discovered King Viktor and Queen Alyona’s daughter was found—“  


“Yup!” Florentyna wrapped an arm around Natalya’s shoulder’s; a small smirk on her face as she said this, “She is Natasha! Which just proves that we’re telling you, you’re safe. If a member of the Braginsky family is here, you’ll always be safe no matter what.”

“Back home?” Tatyana interrupted the other, now continuing to smile at the other seeing that she was beginning to feel a bit more comfortable, “Where’s ‘home’, honey?”

“…Oh… I’m sorry,” She took in a breath realizing that she had been going on. After a moment, she looked up at the group of fairies, “My name is Elizabeta. My family governs the Planet of Atlantic.”

“So you’re a Princess!?” A gasp came from Florentyna as she leaned forward and smiled right up at the girl, “Goodie! I’m so happy to meet the Princess of Atlantic. I used to go there all the time before my parents got divorced on vacation on your beaches.”

“Alright Florentyna, we get it, you travel a lot,” Mei couldn’t help but to mutter, resulting in laughter to come from Natalya and Tatyana. Instead of Florentyna following-up, Mei had looked back at Elizabeta and risen a brow, “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Elizabeta. Just know that you’re in one of the most safest planets in this entire magic dimension. Plus, you’re surrounded by fairies and not witches, so even better.”

“…Sweetie, you kept saying the name CeCe, right?” Tatyana interrupted after a moment, not wanting to startle Elizabeta even further. She seemed to be in shock from not only being in a completely new environment but the fact that she managed to figure out who Natalya was right away, “Is she your baby Pixie? We found her with you. The nurse gave her a bottle of milk this morning and she’s been fast asleep since then.”

Hearing these words had Elizabeta immediately sit up from the bed at the mentioning of the Pixie. CeCe was okay— it was all she wanted to know. She immediately pushed the blankets off, almost as if she were wanting to go and find her, “C-Can I see her?”

“Of course,” Tatyana nodded and stood up for a moment, “Stay here.”

Standing up from her seat, Tatyana had walked around a corner to approach behind a curtain. There, she had pushed out what seemed to be a small cradle where small snoring was coming out from. 

Elizabeta gasped upon seeing the cradle. She sat up, watching as Tatyana pushed it over for her before leaning forward to look inside. 

Right there, was indeed her baby Pixie. CeCe, who had been curled up and fast asleep, wasn’t harmed whatsoever. She had been laying on top of a soft pillow with a blanket over her body, thus resulting in Elizabeta reaching over and slowly run her finger across the Pixie’s cheek, “CeCe…” She whispered, “I’m so glad you’re okay… I was having so many nightmares…. I thought you were gone…”

The fact that she had the chance to see her Pixie after experiencing such a horrible nightmare was indeed a relieving sight for Elizabeta. At one point, the nurse had stepped into the room to check on how she was doing, as well as bring her a meal seeing that she was still weak and dehydrated from when she was first found in the woods.

The meal was appreciated by Elizabeta as she thanked the nurse. She looked down at her plate, being greeted to a filling meal with potatoes and meat, before soon she began to eat in silence to try and regain some of her strength. 

“Thank you… You have no idea how relieving it is to see some friendly faces,” Elizabeta spoke after a moment and looked up at the four fairies who had been sitting in their own seats with cups of tea that the nurse had brought for them, “Especially what I’ve been through…”

“Well, we’re kind of curious, actually,” Natalya began while sitting on the edge of the bed; taking small sips out of her tea. As she did so, she soon lowered the cup onto her lap, “Since we assumed you were attacked by some beast.”

“…it was a beast,” Elizabeta responded truthfully, which had everyone focused on her, “But not just any beast… A demon,” Explained this seemed confusing to the group, and thus, leading for the girl to sit up as she lowered the spoonful of food she was about to eat, “I was trapped in the under realm - the Shadow Haunt.”

“Wait, I’ve heard of that place before,” Florentyna gasped, “My mom used to tell me if I didn’t behave, I’d get sent there to eternity.”

“That one and the Realm of Darkness was the other one parents would tell us,” Mei nodded in agreement, leaving Natalya to stare at the two at confusion.

“The Realm of what?” Natalya rose a brow. 

“Oh, that’s right. You’re still on Earthling logic,” Florentyna chuckled and finished her cup of tea; placing it onto the tray on which it came from, “The Realm of Darkness is a place where demons reside. It’s full of powerful dark energy that once you enter it, you lose your powers. The Shadow Haunt though is another place full of demons, but it’s more painful to be there as any magical being…” She looked over at Elizabeta, “What the hell were you doing in a place like that in the first place?”

A small sigh came from Elizabeta upon hearing the question. It was a valid one. After all, no magical being should ever go down to the Shadow Haunt alone as she did. She figured she may as well start from the beginning.

“When I was around five, I discovered a hidden Pixie village near my family’s palace,” She first explained with a small smile to her face; reminiscing at the memories she had from her childhood, “All the Pixies there became my best friends. I’d sneak out and visit them whenever I could. But when I went just a few days ago, the village was empty except for Homura and Rani…” As she said this, she found her tone of voice beginning to hesitate just a bit at the reference of the two other Pixies, “Apparently shadow monsters from the army of decay raided the village. The creatures kidnapped the entire village - leaving Homura and Rani the only two to escape. So together, we followed the trail that the creatures had left behind, leading us to the deepest part of Shadow Haunt. After wandering through the caves, we managed to find the castle made out of rocks and stone... That's when I heard it. A loud shriek that I've never heard in my life before he appeared."

Tatyana tilted her head as she looked at the other, listening closely, “He?”

“Yes…” Elizabeta swallowed and took another bite out of her food to process the memory, “…The Dark Lord. The one that witches pray to every night. The demon that you’d hear in books - he’s real. He’s really, real.”

“The Dark Lord!?” Florentyna choked on her breathing and sat up, “He’s real!?”

“I’ve heard of witches going out in the middle of the night just to pray to him,” Mei began, equally as startled as the others, “I had no idea he was real.”

“He’s real alright,” Elizabeta nodded, continuing on with her story, “He… Looks like a normal guy, but he has dark powers that are stronger than anything I’ve ever seen. And now, he’s got all the Pixies… and…” Tears began to form in her eyes once more, “The Pixies… e-except for CeCe…”

“What does he want from them?” Natalya interrupted and crossed her arms. If anything, she didn’t like hearing about this at all. Another dark figure lingering in a place called the Shadow Haunt?  
  
It was all connecting back in her mind to what the psychic Pixie had told her the previous day.

“I have no idea,” It was the truth. Elizabeta didn’t know how to respond to the question, because she had no idea what the demon was planning, “B-But… I’m scared.” She rubbed her eyes to wipe the tears away, “I’m scared he’s doing something horrible to them. A-And they’re counting on _me_ to save them. But I don’t know how to-“

Tatyana reached over and wrapped her arms around the girl. Seeing that she was in distraught, she slowly began to shush her to calm her down while rubbing her back, “It’s okay, sweetheart, it’s okay…”

“Tatyana’s right,” Natalya agreed and stood up from her seat to move to the bed. There, she reached over and placed a hand on the other’s shoulder, “We’ll help you. Whatever it takes.”

“Absolutely.” Tatyana followed-up as confirmation.

Hearing these words startled Elizabeta. She looked up from the hug and rubbed her eyes once more. She could feel her heart beginning to fill up with warmth. After experiencing the trauma of going through the Shadow Haunt, being defeated by its ruler, and losing all hope… These fairies were offering to risk themselves to save her lights. And for that, Elizabeta was absolutely thankful for everything at that moment, “R-Really?”

“You bet your sweet ass we will,” Florentyna confirmed as well as she smiled; taking a step towards the bed before placing her empty teacup down onto the tray, “Plus, we’re second years and pretty much saved the magical dimension earlier this year. We’re technically allowed to go on missions, which means that the Headmistress can’t say no to us.”

Natalya reached over and took the other’s hands. While she wasn’t the comforting type, she understood the feeling of loving something so close. She loved her family and friends, and couldn’t imagine the thought of losing them. Already she was going through enough with not knowing where her birth family was. But if she could make a difference by helping Elizabeta, even if it was completely out of character for her, she would.

Especially if it meant rescuing Pixies, who were known to bring good to the worlds of the magic dimension.

“We’re going to get those Pixies back home…

…no matter what.”

* * *

Birds were chirping. It had been a beautiful sunny day lingering above all of those who had been in meditation. There had been a cool breeze in the air which was relaxing to the point where that outside would have the opportunity to perhaps rest. 

Another day in the World of Peace. 

It was a place where those who were troubled and lost would find themselves on the path of recovery through peace. Those who were once dark individuals to transition themselves into members of light in the magical dimension.

It was a colony of people who appreciated the peace in the world. There were no worries nor a need for stress. Instead, those would be welcome to leave if they were able to find the goodness in their heart with their powers. 

There had been many successful cases of those who were once dark transitioning into those of light. Now, they were serving the magic dimension as contributors to further its development with magical beings. 

Members of its colony had been walking around to take in the peace. Some were watering plants, others were singing, and others were either writing or drawing out their thoughts and emotions during that beautiful day.

In the meadow, however, three individuals lingered in the grass with angered expressions grown to their faces. 

As the three individuals walked through the grass; their heads were hung low.

It had been about six months since their arrival in the World of Peace. A place where no magical being such as themselves would ever survive in. Yet for some reason, they were surviving this far, only with no improvement on their behaviors whatsoever. 

The members of the peace’s colony claimed that it would take time. With enough time, soon, the three would become peaceful individuals who would be able to see the beauty in the worlds of the dimension.

_“This is the fucking hundredth time we’ve walked through these damn meadows, only to end up back where we started!”_

_“AUGH! If these flowers were actually alive, I’d kill them!”_

_“I’m so fucking sick of this place, and I’d destroy it in an instant if I had my magic!”_

The three individuals bickered with one another as they stopped walking. At one point, the tallest of the group had laid herself down onto the ground and stared up at the sky. Her face was burning red in frustration, all while she dug her nails into the ground to pick at the dirt underneath the grass, “We shouldn’t even be here. We used to RULE!”

“Shut your trap, _Nebula_.” Aviana rolled her eyes in annoyance as she sat down in the grass. Her legs were crisscrossed as she rested her elbows on her thighs; supporting her chin with her hands while glaring directly in front of her to the sight of birds flying away in a distance.

The leader of the three, Gelinda, took a seat in between the two other women before glaring at Aviana, “Sister, she has a point,” She corrected her in a calm tone of voice; mocking the tone of voice of how the people spoke on the planet, “We were third-year witches at the Tower of the Dead. _No one_ messed with us. We beat up fairies as much as we wanted, managed to steal the dragon flame and heart of ice, summoned the army of decay took over our school, and destroyed UHB. NOW if Natalya didn’t awaken as Princess Natasha, we’d be fucking ruling the magical dimension at this very moment!” 

“Thanks for the reminder of our failures,” Aviana rolled her eyes once more before closing them, “Glad to being on this planet knowing that everything we did lead for us to be here.”

“Well, I’ll tell you something since you seem to be having a bit of an attitude, Aviana,” Gelinda shot a glare at the other; her hands into fists as she sat up from her spot, “One way or another, we are getting out of this place. And when I do, I’m going to kill Natasha. I don’t care…

_…I’m going to KILL HER WITH MY BARE HANDS!”_

* * *

“ _…Going to kill her with your bare hands?”_

A visualization of the scene taking place on the World of Peace had a large smirk form on the demon’s lips. Seeing the sight of angry, hot-headed witches was something so amusing to him. His sharp nails trailed across the crystal ball he had been using to examine them before sitting up in his throne.

“As witches, they’ve served very well to their coven,” The demon had spoken with a small amount of amusement, “Their loyalty to me as their Dark Lord has still been strong despite their failures…. I can only wonder what it would be like to welcome them into my home and having their wishes come true.”

Seeing the powerful sense of darkness radiate from the witches was what he liked to see. Covens of witches who worked together contributed to his worship and bowed to him. Even after their failures, they still prayed to him each night they spent on a world full of light.

And he was pleased.

“Perhaps I can make that wish of theirs come true…” He hummed and sat up from his throne. With his hands waving over the crystal to shut it off before it soon vanished and transitioned into what looked like a portal.

Standing up, he began to walk through it with a planned expression on his face. This would be fun, he told himself…

…And a good way to have assistance on taking over the magical dimension once and for all with experienced witches.

* * *

The positive energy that radiated out on that meadow was weakening to the witches. With no capability to use their magic when they had their powers revoked from Natalya’s spell, it was impossible to not cause mayhem. 

Instead, all they could do was linger in the meadow and watch the cringey scenes of the peaceful ‘members’ of that world. 

Aviana had been laying upside down; using her legs to support herself with a tree branch. As she swung back and forth, she glared directly towards what seemed to be the sight of a young couple holding their hands and laughing together. She gagged; turning her head away to look at the other two witches who weren’t as pleased to be there, “I actually want to kill me.” 

“It’s been over six months…” Nebula followed-up with the other’s statement, who had been in the middle of picking at the grass. At that point, she managed to pick so much grass, that the only thing that was there had been dirt, “…and we’re trapped here until we’re considered ‘stable’. Unless a fucking miracle happens and we miraculously get our magic back.”

“Sisters,” Gelinda muttered in annoyance. She had been swinging on top of a hammock that was set out for them; glaring at the other two, “If we want to get out of here, we have to be on ‘good behavior’. So stop whining and act like you’re on good behavior. It has to be convincing.”

Nebula glared at the other as her right eye twitched in frustration, “But I am so sick—“

“Oh shut up Nebula,” Gelinda sat up from her hammock, “It’s not worth it continuing to complain—“

In the midst of their conversation, something had caught them all off guard.

The cool breeze had stopped. The sounds of birds chirping had immediately stopped. What especially had distracted them was the sight of the beautiful blue sky suddenly turning dark. It had turned dark to the point where it was wondered if someone had cast a spell to turn it into the evening. 

However, the sounds of thunder followed by the darkened sky didn’t make it seem like it was the evening.

The clouds were red. Lightning began to strike in the sky; startling Aviana who had her eyes closed and was relaxing for once. She stood up from the ground and dusted herself, “What the fuck’s going on?”

“Finally!” Nebula looked up at the sky, her fists in the air, “Some decent good weather for me to sleep in!”

“This looks really… really bad,” Aviana continued to look up at the sky. There was something not right. It was as if all positive magic that had existed in the meadow was completely gone.

And instead, replaced with a negative powerful energy. 

The dark energy had Gelinda walk away from the hammock and look up at the sky. The magic was familiar… She couldn’t tell what it was from, but it gave her the energy to release a small chuckle to herself, “Yes…” She smirked and looked over at Aviana, “Isn’t this great?”

It was amazing to them. This was the dark magic that the witches had longed for during their months of being on that planet. Nothing had changed about them. Since being defeated, being arrested, and sent to the planet in hopes to get out on good behavior - nothing was working in their minds.

They had been corrupted by darkness and the longing for power, that nothing would help them at that point.

A dark shadow had begun to take form in front of Gelinda. Upon seeing this, she had stepped back - unaware of who and what it was until the shadow had begun to take shape.

This shape is a figure that at one glance, all of the witches had immediately recognized who it was.

_“Good evening, my daughters.”_

One by one, the witches had gasped and dropped to their knees. It was one thing that a lightning storm had begun and radiated dark magic. But the fact that someone they _knew_ was stepping out of it was the last thing that they ever expected.

“Dark Lord-“ Aviana had been on her knees, her head bowed at his presence.

“For what do we owe to be in your presence, Lord Demande?” Nebula looked up, her eyes widened seeing his black orbs stare down at her, “Have you heard our prayers from our coven?”

“…Yes.” As the demon spoke, he had motioned for them all to stand. The witches exchanged looks with each other, but when being told to do so, they followed the order and stood. He glared down at them, serious expressions, “I have listened. Your coven has been graciously loyal to me, that I have decided that I would aid your prayers in exchange for one thing.”

The mentioning of this had the witches exchange brief looks at one another. Soon enough, it was Gelinda who had stepped up and spoke, “What do you wish of us?”

A smirk was present on his face. As he said this, he could hear the sounds of guards beginning to run in their direction. This wasn’t any worry to him at all as he held up a hand; forming a wall of fire to prevent the guards from reaching them, “I wish for you to share your knowledge of the magic dimension,” He said simply, “I hope to rule this dimension, however, know it is impossible with the heir of the dragon flame and heart of ice existing. In order to defeat those powers, there is something I need for you three to find, and if we succeed, I shall share this dimension with you.”

“Taking over the magic dimension again?” Aviana looked over at Gelinda with a smirk to her lips, “Not a bad idea at all.”

“And what do you need us to find?” Nebula followed-up with the question while still listening closely to the dark figure.

“The Codex.” He responded, laughter filling the air as he held his hands over them, “The Codex is the key to securing all powers of the dimension. If all of them are located, we four will be able to rule together in eternity.”

Silence lingered upon the witches. With knowing the history of the magic dimension, the Codex was forms of power that lingered somewhere in different parts of the universe. If put together, they would form a power strong enough to possibly defeat the dragon flame and heart of ice as a whole. 

Which was something Gelinda especially liked the thought of.

“How can we retrieve it though if we don’t have our powers?” Aviana looked up, noticing the guards beginning to panic when seeing the wall of fire preventing them from getting to the group, “The Princess revoked our powers.”

At the question, this was easy for the demon to do. Demande held his hands over the witches as a dark shadow began to form around all three of them. The dark, powerful energy that radiated in the air soon began to slowly enter their hearts

“ _Reversus revokerous!”_

The enchantment being said aloud had formed three orbs to take shape in front of the witches. Soon, each orb had plunged directly into their chests; resulting in all three of their eyes beginning to glow full of darkness. 

The magic was in the air. Their powers were immediately returning as the demon laughed at the sight of it. The witches didn’t think that they would get their powers back this easily, but all due to the Dark Lord, he was able to revoke the spell that was cast on them back during their attack on Lenfia. 

“Okay ladies…” Lord Demande looked down at them as they were all in disbelief. The robes that they wore as part of the planet were gone and they were once again in the same attire that they were in when they had first attempted to take over the magic dimension. The demon opened a portal, motioning them to enter, “Shall I lead you to your new home now?”

“…And what’s this new home?” Gelinda spoke; a large smirk present on her lips upon feeling her dark energy beginning to return to her. 

“ _Shadow Haunt.”_

* * *

Sitting in her bedroom, it was the evening. A long day first day of classes, followed by meeting a new fairy out of the blue. Natalya sat towards the window of her room and pressed her hand against it in thought. 

There was something about leaving that class earlier with the opposites that had been bothering her. And it didn’t hit her until later on during the day. She knew she was distracted with wanting to get to know more about Elizabeta. But now that she was alone with her own thoughts, she couldn’t help her mind from wandering.

With the addition of having to work on her research paper for Professor Keldan, it allowed her, even more, to look into the information that she didn’t get to interpret in the lecture earlier.

“This theory of opposing forces allow opposite energies to react when close to each other,” She muttered to herself as she turned her head away from the window. On her bed, there had been a textbook she had been using to gather her notes for the paper, “I wonder if I can feel my opposite…”

Natalya turned around and walked back to her bed. The textbook on her comforter had been opened to a page. One page is about the differences between light and dark magic, but also the connectivities that they had with one another. There can be a light of one version that could do most spells, just as a dark version of it that could do the same spells as well.

“I can’t shake off this feeling…” She whispered to herself as she sat down and closed the book, “…that we may all be in danger from this opposite.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DUN DUN! Welcome to Chapter 2!
> 
> I hope you're enjoying Elizabeta so far! She's going to be a VERY important character from now on into the series. Especially with introducing the Pixies as well, they'll also be very important in the story too.
> 
> The witches are also back!~ They're very important with the series too, so they won't be disappearing for... A while. ;)
> 
> As for when chapter 3 will be released, I am working on it right now! :D I am planning to release it on 08/08/2020. Perhaps even earlier, so please keep your eyes out.
> 
> Until then, thank you for your support and I'll see you soon! <3


	4. The Rescue Mission in Shadow Haunt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “This theory of opposing forces allow opposite energies to react when close to each other,” She muttered to herself as she turned her head away from the window. On her bed, there had been a textbook she had been using to gather her notes for the paper, “I wonder if I can feel my opposite…”
> 
> Natalya turned around and walked back to her bed. The textbook on her comforter had been opened to a page. One page is about the differences between light and dark magic, but also the connectivities that they had with one another. There can be a light of one version that could do most spells, just as a dark version of it that could do the same spells as well.
> 
> “I can’t shake off this feeling…” She whispered to herself as she sat down and closed the book, “…that we may all be in danger from this opposite.”

Everything was quiet in the room. It was dark, all curtains were drawn, and only the sounds of an IV drip could be heard. 

Elizabeta had been laying on her bed in the infirmary, fast asleep. Beside her, a cradle was set out for CeCe, just so she would be able to sleep at peace knowing that her bonded Pixie was by her side.

Though with it being late in the morning, the sun did begin to shine through the sides of the curtain. The sun even being enough to reach her eyes, which had Elizabeta groan for a moment before beginning to blink herself awake. She growing up as a Princess was used to sleeping in dark rooms. So in the case where she couldn’t, especially since she wasn’t home and comfortable quite yet, she forced herself awake.

She wouldn’t complain though. 

Slowly, she laid up from the bed and rubbed her eyes. It was just her in the room. At least the college was kind enough to give her some personal space while she recovered from her journey through Shadow Haunt. Though as she was about to turn her head to check on CeCe, her eyes widened upon noticing the pillow that CeCe was resting on…

…being completely empty.

She fully laid up from the bed upon making this discovery. Did the Pixie fly off somewhere? “CeCe?” Elizabeta called out; grabbing onto the IV that was on a stand and begin to roll it towards the window with her. It was too dark, so she needed sunlight.

Her hand let go of the stand before she pulled back the covers to reveal the sun shining through the room and giving enough light for her to see now. Looking down through the window, she could see students walking together with their friends to classes.

The campus on Lenfia was genuinely beautiful. She had no idea that a college for fairies such as that one existed until encountering it from her journey. One thing that wasn’t fun about being a Princess from her world was the fact that all of her life, she was homeschooled. Even as a fairy, she had been being trained by professional fairy godmothers, when in reality, that wasn’t the type of fairy she _wanted_ to be.

To go out and explore the world. To fight for her Kingdom and world - that was what she wanted. Not standing back and letting guards take care of her, when she could take care of herself.

Opening up the curtains didn’t help in her situation of finding CeCe. Instead, she had made a new discovery as she looked out the window and noticed something flying in the air…

…that something being a magical being with wings, a bonnet, and eyes closed shut.

“CeCe!” 

She gasped upon the sight of seeing the baby Pixie flying in the air all by herself. With her eyes closed, that was an indicator enough that she had been sleep-flying. There was a saying of humans' sleep-walking… It was the case for magical beings. But with magical beings that were born with wings and couldn’t be hidden like fairies, it was easy for them to sleep-fly than walk.

That wasn’t good at all.

Without even thinking about it, Elizabeta had quickly undone the IV on her arm before sprinting out of the room as quickly as she could. She had no idea where she was going, but all she had to do was get out of there and get CeCe before she ended up hurting herself.

The fact that she was a baby Pixie too meant that she couldn’t be left alone at all.

Opening the door, she had been greeted to a grand hallway. It looked like a corridor, so all she could think about was beginning to run down it. She was still in her pajamas, but she didn’t care at all if anyone saw her.

Though as she turned a corner to go right in hopes to locate a staircase, she hadn’t been expecting to see two administrators walking at her direction. These two administrators being the nurse she had recognized as the one taking care of her, as well as for another woman who seemed to be in professional attire.

The powerful energy she radiated showed a sense of comfort to Elizabeta, that she froze on the spot. It was almost similar to the energy that her fairy godmother teachers at home had as well.

“Good morning, Ms. Héderváry.” The Headmistress looked directly at the girl with a smile on her face. Elizabeta didn’t recognize her at all, but she found herself shocked seeing that the woman knew her, “How are you feeling? We were just about to go check up on you, and so I’d be able to properly introduce myself to you.”

“I’m… Okay.” Elizabeta began in panic, “…W-Who are you?”

“Oh,” Hearing the question had Radella respond in response. She smiled and approached the girl to hold out her hand for a handshake, “You may call me Headmistress Radella. I’m the current Dean of the university…” However, as Elizabeta took her hand to shake it, she couldn’t help but to notice that the girl was in a hurry, “Is everything alright, dear?”

“Y-Yes, quite alright, ma’am,” Elizabeta responded quickly and looked ahead. She had to go, she was still worried about CeCe, “I’m sorry. I woke up only to discover that CeCe wasn’t in her cradle. And when I went to go open the curtains for some light, I saw that she was outside by herself — Where can I find the nearest exit? I need to go get her before she hurts herself - she’s sleep-flying.”

“CeCe is the baby Pixie, yes?” The Headmistress gasped upon hearing this. That didn’t sound good to her at all. A baby Pixie unattended? Then again, with it being a Pixie, it wasn’t surprising that it managed to wander outside all on its own, “If you continue going down this hallway, on your first right, will be a staircase. Take the staircase down, and the door to outside will be right there.”

That sounded like easy instruction. She looked at the Headmistress and gave a nod, “Thank you,” Elizabeta spoke before she began to sprint. Though in the midst of her running, she turned around to face them, speaking out to the nurse who was mostly in shock that she had left all by herself, “Sorry about the IV! I’ll come back after!”

There were bigger priorities that she had at that moment. The number one is to get CeCe as soon as she could.

Just as Headmistress Radella had instructed her, Elizabeta continued sprinting until she had managed to make contact with the right turn. That right turn was enough for her to find the staircase, which she immediately began running down. It probably wasn’t safe, but she didn’t care. She ran as fast as she could, only to soon enough, reach the entrance of the building to exit outside.

The burning heat from the sun was the first thing that had hit her face the second she made it outside. She had forgotten that while it was September, it was still in that transition season to fall, so most days were very sunny and hot. 

Elizabeta ignored the heat and proceeded running forward. Now that she was outside, this gave her the chance to immediately spot CeCe. 

CeCe, who was still fast asleep, had been flying in front of an open window. The window was something Elizabeta had no idea where it led to, but the Pixie seemed to have been floating there all by herself with no realization of where she was.

“CeCe!” Elizabeta cried out to the Pixie, running closer, “CeCe, wake up! You’re asleep!”

Calling out to the Pixie while she ran didn’t seem to work at all. If anything, what it did manage to do was capture the attention of students who were walking on the main campus to their classes. Some had ignored Elizabeta, while some had noticed her and stopped walking to stare.

_“Is that girl in her pajamas?”_

_“Probably she’s skipping class.”_

The reality was that Elizabeta wasn’t even a student at the college at all. She didn’t hear the whispering and murmur that came from the students, since she had found herself beginning to experience relief now that she was closer to CeCe. 

She stood underneath the Pixie and continued to call out to her, “CeCe!” 

The Pixie was completely unphased. The calling out, especially when the Pixie knew whose voice it was, didn’t change anything. What it did cause though was that the more Elizabeta cried out to her, the more the baby Pixie began to float inside the window…

…and thus, more panic began to form on Elizabeta’s expression.

She had to get away inside the building again. And so, Elizabeta looked around quickly; spotting an entrance to the building before sprinting inside it and running towards the direction of where she believed the window led to.

Her connection with CeCe was strong. With her magic, it should be able to lead her to the Pixie quickly with no wrong turns.

CeCe at that point had flown directly into the window, which was connected to a class where a lecture was in the middle of taking place.

The classroom was full of just around thirty students. With it being the day of the week when this class usually took place, it was the opposites one between light and dark magic users. Natalya and Florentyna had been seated with the rest of their peers, who were listening on to what Professor Keldan had been explaining at the moment.

Today they were going through presentations. It was a starting assignment to discuss what the differences were between light and dark magic. In this case, Natalya had just finished her presentation and was seated when the Pixie had flown in through the window.

“As Natalya discussed in her presentation,” The Professor began once snapping his fingers; the projection of a slideshow disappearing before he had stepped towards the front of the room to continue, “The power of negative energy can only be encountered by-“

The sounds of snoring could be heard. This was something that the Professor had immediately picked up on and glanced right at the students. No one was asleep, but where was it coming from? 

The snoring sounded soft, but it was loud enough for them all to pick up. Even Florentyna and Natalya had begun looking around the room before noticing what the source of it was.

“Wait-“ Florentyna looked up from her desk, “Isn’t that CeCe?—“

As the question was asked, the doors of the classroom had burst right open. The students and Professor immediately looked at the door where Elizabeta had been standing there in her pajamas; panting while her cheeks were red from running. “CeCe!”

“Is that your Pixie?” The Professor looked over at the girl, pausing on the lecture before raising a brow, “I didn’t know we’d be expecting guests.”

The Pixie remained in the air. With the ceiling being over fifty feet high, the Pixie was farther up than it was. Though what managed to catch everyone’s attention was when the snoring had increased to show that it was fully asleep before soon enough, CeCe had stopped using her wings and immediately began to fall from the air.

“CeCe-!” Elizabeta gasped, sprinting over to attempt to catch her, “Wake up!”

Seeing the sight of this made Natalya’s instincts kick into full gear the second she had noticed the Pixie begin to fall midair. With her hand out, a bright orb formed in the palm of it as she shouted out a quick spell, “ _Freezus!”_

The Pixie, who had been flying straight down to the ground had frozen midair in front of Elizabeta who was still feet away from catching her. With the Pixie still in place, Elizabeta had grabbed onto her and sighed in relief seeing that the Pixie was alright before soon, cheers, and applauds began to fill the room. Even the Professor had been clapping in amazement, surprised to see how quickly the two had managed to catch the Pixie.

Elizabeta then realized she wasn’t in just a hallway anymore. She was in an actual classroom… With students and a Professor staring at her. That was her first mistake there, that as she stood there holding onto the sleeping Pixie, her eyes widened, “I’m so sorry—“

“Oh no no dear, it’s alright,” The Professor was chuckling to himself as he waved her off, clearly not angered at all, “I’m just glad you made it on time. I wasn’t expecting to see a baby Pixie wander in here,”

Hearing these words had Natalya and Florentyna chuckle to themselves. It was a funny scene that had taken place, but what was important was that CeCe was safe and no one got hurt in the process of her sleep-walking. 

Elizabeta had taken her cue as a dismissal after apologizing since she didn’t want to interrupt the class any further. After all, she did promise the nurse she would get back to finish her IV, and then she would be able to leave the infirmary for good.

Now that it had been a few days since her arrival on campus, she had begun to build strength and get herself together once again. Her powers were just as strong as before, her wounds had healed, and she was able to hold down a meal without throwing up at the thought of her experience at Shadow Haunt. 

The nurse had explained during her first diagnosis that she had been experiencing PTSD. The fact that she was able to get out of Shadow Haunt quickly was good since it allowed for her to recover faster in her mind. 

However, there was still an issue taking place - and that was the fact that the majority of Pixies were still trapped under the hands of the Dark Lord.

Elizabeta had expressed her thoughts to her new friends about the Pixies that were still trapped. She wanted to still go back and fight to rescue them, but she didn’t know how she’d be able to do it if she came back as badly hurt as she was before. That was why it was promised by the group of fairies - Natalya, Florentyna, Mei, Monika, and Tatyana - that they would all join her on this mission.

There was another problem in addition to the Pixies still being trapped. And that was the fact that they couldn’t necessarily sneak out to do a mission.

The last time the group had snuck out to do a mission, this being back during their first year when Florentyna’s ring was first stolen by the witches, they thought they had gotten away with it… 

…Until they were greeted by Glynda when they returned and were punished by the Headmistress with having their powers revoked.

That was why Natalya had offered to bite the bullet and schedule a meeting with the Headmistress to discuss their options. They were second-year students, so technically they would be allowed to take on missions with permission. There was also a likelihood of getting a yes from Radella if it was by Natalya, which was why she was the one to put in the offer.

The meeting with the Headmistress had taken place at the end of the day after Elizabeta had been released from the infirmary. She had joined along with the group since she was sure that she’d be able to help Natalya convince the Headmistress to give them permission to go.

Though at one mentioning of going to Shadow Haunt to rescue the Pixies, the Headmistress had shot a look up at the group with a serious expression before standing up from her chair behind her desk.

“I won’t allow it,” Were the first words that had come from the older woman. It was an expected response and based on the angered expression on her face, it was clear that it was a bad idea to ever ask such a thing to her, “I simply won’t allow it. Shadow Haunt is dangerous enough, and thinking that all six of you can go against the demons down there? I’m sorry, as much as I know how powerful each one of you are, you are still in the beginning of your training as fairies.”

As she had said this, she had held a hand over her desk to summon what looked like a book. The group of fairies exchanged looks with one another when she had brought the book out, which wasn’t any ordinary book…

…But it was a book with her the Headmistress’ written on it.

“I have only been to Shadow Haunt once,” Radella explained; flipping to a particular page of her book where there had been photos placed out. Each photo had shown the horror of what the realm looked like; a place full of nightmares that no magical being of light would ever want to pass through, “It was for a mission back when the Company of Light was still established,” She looked up at Natalya specifically, “With your mother and father. There were 10 of us, and only eight of us made it out alive - _barely.”_

Hearing such detail from the Headmistress wasn’t surprising at all. When finding Elizabeta in the woods in the condition that she was in, she was close to dying. If they hadn’t found her and gave her the appropriate medical care, there would have been a chance that she wouldn’t be standing there that day.

Alas, Florentyna reached over and closed the book with a small frown on her lips. She looked up at Radella; hope fully in her eyes, “But we were the ones who went to Sparx _and_ saved the magic dimension, Headmistress. And we have Natalya with us, and she managed to wipe someone like Gelinda right to the ground.”

“I won’t deny that, yes,” The Headmistress reached for the book and held it up to her chest, now releasing a small sigh to herself, “And your accomplishments as a team is what I wake up being proud to every day. However, there is a demon there in Shadow Haunt that if he _knows_ that the fairy of the dragon flame and heart of ice is there, he will pick off each of you one by one just to get to Natalya.”

The words did make Natalya not feel good at all. She sat down in her seat upon hearing this and frowned. There was something about always being a target for these enemies that she absolutely despised… She knew that it was expected when she was chosen to carry on the dragon flame and heart of ice - but she couldn’t understand.

How did her mother get through this when she was still the sole guardian? 

And there she was, just into her second year of training as a fairy and already being on the death list for many enemies. Her position was something that she’d never wish on anyone. As much as she loved being a fairy, her position was much scarier than it seemed.

“Please, Headmistress,” Monika followed-up and approached where Natalya was sitting; placing her hands on the girl’s shoulders with hope on her expression as well, “We all understand that this is a huge challenge. But this isn’t our first mission—“

“—I’m sorry, girls,” The Headmistress had put her foot down once more, interrupting Monika when she was in the middle of speaking. Frowns could be seen from the group, but Radella was trying to teach them about the dangers of what could happen if a fairy wasn’t ready for a mission as risky as that one, “I am happy to see your confidence, really. But it doesn’t matter how confident you are, because most likely your powers will not work in Shadow Haunt. I’m sure Elizabeta can confirm that as well.”

Silence came from Elizabeta when she heard this statement. Stares were made in her direction since there was no denying that the Headmistress was wrong. The second she had stepped into Shadow Haunt, her powers faded. She could only use them for a little bit before she got sick and they completely vanished.

She turned her head away, almost shamefully, “…It’s true.” She admitted with a sigh, “…The second I crossed the line into shadow-haunt, I got really sick… Sick to the point where I couldn’t stand up, and my powers weren’t working at all. Gone. Vanished - But,” She looked up at the Headmistress, “I took a potion with me, and I continued on foot. I didn’t use my powers at all until I actually freed the Pixies, and relied on my physical strength.”

“The problem is that it’s not up to you at all,” Radella sat down in her seat. The book in her hands had vanished now that she had finished showing the girls the pictures during her experience at Shadow Haunt before she took in a breath, “Shadow Haunt acts on its own. It’s unpredictable.”

“What about the Pixies, Headmistress?” Natalya looked up from her spot and stood up from her seat, now looking down at her with a serious expression brought to her face, “Did you not see the baby Pixie Elizabeta had? The thing was scared out of its mind. Now imagine an entire village of Pixies being in that place. We can’t just leave them to be killed by this demon.”

“Try to understand, Natalya,” Radella met the girl’s eyes with direct eye contact, “Shadow Haunt is very dangerous, that even when I was a full-fledged guardian fairy twenty years ago, I couldn’t go without passing a survival test by the ministry of Magix’s council. Even your parents, who were the rulers of this entire dimension, had to take the test too. No one is exempt from it. It was so hard, that there is only a 10% passing rate. You wouldn’t want to take the test-“

“…But you’re a member of the Magix council.” Natalya interrupted and leaned forward, raising a brow with the serious expression still grown to her face, “You could administer the test with us legally.”

The older woman sighed in frustration. She was right. She was a member of the council and has been for many years. It was part of her duty as a Headmistress of Magix’s colleges, as well as a former member of the Company of Light. However, she couldn’t risk it and stood up, looking back at the girl, “Natalya, I am _not_ going to argue about this further-” 

“ _Let us take the test.”_

She was putting her foot down. Normally if she were talking to any other administrator, she could get in trouble. Even her friends who had been standing in the room were very shocked at the change of behavior that came from Natalya. It was suddenly very strict, the environment was cold - which meant she was determined to get through the Headmistress whether she liked it or not.

“Let us take the test, please, Headmistress.” Natalya repeated herself once more. Her glare was strong. She couldn’t show any signs of weakness and had to have that determination to get to the woman, “And if we fail, fine. We’ll figure out another way to rescue the Pixies. But if we pass, we go and get them ourselves. I’m not afraid, nor are any of us afraid or weak as you may think.”

Radella stared at the girl, absolutely speechless. There was something about seeing Natalya act this way that made her remind of her times back as a guardian fairy. The same determination working with her family… It brought a sense of hope to the older woman.

She sighed and took in a breath, clearly unsure of how to argue with that claim. If she said no again, Natalya would most likely be able to follow it up with another argument, “…You really are like your mother.” 

So determined. Alyona was the same way. Determined and strong-spirited, as well as had that serious glare in her eye when there was something that she wanted. Natalya had the same expression and tone of voice then and there, that Radella couldn’t say no to it at that point. She had tried to get across to the girls, but the fact that Natalya was speaking on their behalf to convince her, it was hard.

Really, really hard.

She sighed and turned to her watch. It was about the evening, so she figured that Professor Polonium - who was usually in charge of the magical reality chamber - hadn’t left campus quite yet, “…None of you have classes at this hour, do you?”

Shocked faces filled the room as the question was asked. No one had classes, but that one question was enough to show that Natalya’s pressuring managed to convince the woman.

“No ma’am,” Tatyana spoke up on behalf of the group.

Radella nodded and stood up from her seat. It was a test that she didn’t want to conduct, though the proposal was fair. If they failed, then they would dismiss the whole situation and let actual authorities handle rescuing the Pixies. She considered this as a chance for them as well to experience what she had to go through, seeing that she was serious when it was dangerous.

“…Follow me, then.” 

Turning herself over to the door, the Headmistress approached it to open and step out. Every one of the group was shocked that she was even allowed to conduct it, but no one questioned it. Instead, they had all followed behind the older woman in silence, not knowing where they were going.

In the process of walking, they did stop at the front of the main office for the Headmistress to pause, “Wait here,” She began, leaving briefly to go check-in at the faculty’s room to see if there were any Professors that hadn’t gone home yet. 

It took about fifteen minutes, but once she had returned, the group of fairies had been greeted to the sight of their Professor looking much more serious than normal. The exam that Radella wants to put them through was something he disagreed helping out with right away, but at the mentioning of how determined the girls were, he knew that arguing wouldn’t get anywhere. 

“Let’s go,” Radella followed-up once everyone was gathered, “The exam will be held in the magical reality chamber, which is why I’ve asked your Professor to moderate while I administer the test.” 

“Wait,” Mei had spoken up as the group began to walk out of the office, wanting to understand exactly what they were getting themselves into, “You mean everything in the test is real? Like when we had to do our exams in the chamber?” 

“That’s correct,” Radella looked over at the other with a small nod, “So if you are attacked and get hurt, it will hurt and you will experience real pain.”

That was one part of the exam that no one had expected. For Elizabeta, seeing that she was new to the university, had looked over at Mei to whisper lowly to herself, “…what’s the magical reality chamber?”

“It’s a chamber where we’re teleported to a specific area. A world, realm, or even dimension,” Mei responded back, keeping in brief as the group continued to walk down the staircase to go to the main lecture hall where the reality chamber was located, “One of our finals was where we had to go to a dead planet and try to revive it,”

“And when we were there, everything was real,” Tatyana explained beside Mei, “The air, the wind, the dirt - everything. Even if we got hurt, it would still be there when we were teleported back.”

Elizabeta had no idea such a thing existed in the first place. Then again, she was at a fairy college for the first time - after being in years of homeschooling by fairy godmothers. If this college was more about combat and taking on missions, it would make sense that they would have a chamber dedicated for them to be tested on their skills. 

However, there was something amazing about the thought of being in an illusion and it also being real.

The walk to the lecture hall took about five minutes. Upon arriving, Professor Polonium had approached the station of the chamber to sign-on and begin to set it up for the Headmistress. This process was about five minutes, but once it was done, he allowed her to enter the coordinates and details of where exactly the girls would be sent.

All six of them were motioned to enter the chamber, where they all stood inside it side-by-side.

The Headmistress had entered all she needed to do to certify the test and be confirmed as the one administering it. Looking up towards the window of the chamber, she made eye contact with each girl before pressing a button to turn on a microphone that was connected to the computer, “Alright ladies,” She spoke, allowing for them all to hear her.

“I want to remind you that this is different than the tests you’ve been in this chamber. Especially for you Elizabeta, this being your first time,” She first began while all the fairies listened closely, “What this exam entails is not just based on your magic, but your bodies by putting you into the Shadow Haunt’s environment to assess your resistance to it. So if you lose your powers right away, you will have to do what Elizabeta did when she was there, and rely on your physical strength.”

“So be it,” Mei responded with determination in her tone of voice, “My father once told me it’s okay to try and fail as it shows strength, but not trying shows weakness.”

“Wise words,” A nod of understanding came from Radella before she had taken a step back from the monitor. Within seconds, bright power began to form in the palms of her hands before soon she had held it in the direction of the chamber. The Professor was close; keeping eyes on the girls in the chamber as the enchantment was said aloud:

_“Realm of good and light, erase. Allow for evil darkness to fill this place!”_

The Headmistress stared at the girls for a moment before sending the direction of the magic at the chamber. All light had vanished, leaving all six fairies alone as they were transported into a different place outside of the school. The last words that could be heard were the words of their Headmistress.

“ _Good luck.”_

Looking around, they weren’t at Lenfia anymore. This place had been full of darkness with water dripping from its ceilings. Sharp rocks, dirt, and even disgusting black goo had covered the floor, which had the group panic for a moment since no one knew if it was harmful. The space itself was hard to make out, but based on the shape being more on the rounder end - it seemed to be that they were in some sort of cave.

Was it perhaps a cave that was leading to Shadow Haunt? Or an actual cave itself inside it? 

The ultimate goal of the exam was to survive. And survival had led for the group to think in their own ways.

“Alright, let’s do this,” Mei took a step forward, followed by her hands forming with magic in the palms of it as she said the one word that triggered any transformation of a magical being, “ _Charmix!”_

Following her lead had been Tatyana. The immediate protocol for fairies was if they were going to survive and engage in battle, it was best that they be ready in their full forms. 

Seconds after the two said the enchantments, their attires had changed completely from the casual clothing they had been wearing in their human forms before.

Tatyana, whose hair was now parted into a side braid with flowers decorated up the length, had been wearing a beautiful, sparkling pink dress with a bodice pressed against her upper-half and a skirt in the shape of a tulip. Around her neck she wore a green choker with a rose hanging from it, while her dress had connecting sleeves up to her arms as pink boots formed on her feet to match her dress. Soon, a pair of green wings formed just behind her.

For Mei, a red top and skirt had formed on her body. Her hair had been parted into pigtails where at the ends it had been curled, as well as had a pair of headphones on the top of her head in the color purple. She wore matching knee-lengthed red boots in accompany to her outfit before a pair of wings formed on her back as well.

There was something not right. When paying attention to what Headmistress Radella had said, there was a likelihood that if they were to use their powers right away, it would instantly disappear.

And this was something Natalya had kept in mind specifically as her eyes widened seeing that the two had already transformed. 

“If we want to get out of here, we have to find an exit,” Elizabeta suggested, keeping herself back from transforming. After being through the experience of Shadow Haunt, she already knew that it was best to hold off from using any magic unless it was deemed necessary.

“I can try to blast a hole through the wall,” Mei offered and flew up into the air. As she did so, she had cupped her hands together where a bright orb of magic soon began to take shape. The orb, now being held up into the air, was thrown at the nearest wall of the cave where a blast of music had burst from impact from it.

Instead of it causing a hole to open up though, the cave began shaking violently.

Rock and pebble began to fall from on top of the group. All of them had held their arms up to shield themselves, not wanting to get hit with anything intense or dangerous.

Tatyana had flown in now where her magic soon began to form around her. She had held her hands out, preparing to cast a spell where vines would grow out of the ground to form a protective barrier for her friends…

…that was until as she was about to begin the enchantment, nothing had been happening.

All of a sudden, a sick feeling came to her stomach as she lowered herself down to the ground and clutched onto her stomach.

“…my stomach…” She groaned out; panting heavily out of panic, “I can’t use my powers — I don’t feel good at all-!”

“It’s the effects of the environment,” Monika couldn’t help but to say in panic as she rushed over to Tatyana. She had placed her hand over the other to conduct a healing spell, though just as she was about to finish the spell - again, nothing had happened, “What the— My powers aren’t working either!”

While the two fairies were in a panic of their powers not seeming to work, all while Tatyana hadn’t been feeling good, there had been more issues arising minus the fact that the cave was beginning to crumble.

The sounds of roaring and hissing could be heard from behind the group. Everyone had frozen and tensed up on the spot hearing the noises - because it wasn’t from any of them. All it took was for Florentyna to be the one to turn around and let out a loud scream at the sight of four monsters - four monsters that they all recognized as from the army of decay - beginning to charge at them.

“NO NO NO!” Florentyna had shrieked in disgust, “I can’t! Nope, I’m done!”

“Calm down!” Natalya looked at the other and grabbed her arm, now turning to face Elizabeta who had been still standing minus the other three who seemed to have lost their powers already, “We have to go. Together. Combine our powers because we can’t lose them.”

Hearing these words from Natalya was something that Elizabeta and Florentyna had exchanged brief looks with one another before nodding in agreement. Soon enough, the three had stood together side by side before saying the same enchantment that Mei and Tatyana had said earlier.

_“Charmix!”_

A bright light began to form around their bodies. It was a quick transformation to allow them to jump into battle, that as soon as they stepped out of the light, their casual attires had been replaced with completely different forms.

Florentyna had been standing there with her hair parted into two low pigtails. On the top of her head, she wore a blue headband while her body had been wearing a sparkling orange top and a pair of shorts. The knee-lengthed boots she wore matched the color of her outfit, all while on her finger she had been wearing her family’s ring of Solis, as well as had blue arm cuffs as a form of armor. Behind her, a pair of wings grew as well.

Elizabeta had her eyes focused on the monsters as her entire appearance as changed as well. It was the first time her new friends had gotten to see her new appearance, which had consisted of a sparkling green sash running down her chest and wrapping around her bust and waist. It connected to the green skirt she wore around her hips, as well as the top that covered her chest. She wore matching green ankle-lengthed boots, all while her hair had grown an inch and was curled at the ends. Pink barrettes in the shape of roses pulled the sides of her hair halfway back, while a pair of wings had grown from just behind her.

Natalya had been the last to step out of the light in the same attire she’s had since the beginning. On her body, she wore a blue sparkling top with a matching skirt. On her chest, had been a gem in the shape of what she had come to believe was her family crescent from Sparx. The ankle-lengthed boots she wore matched the color of her outfit, all while sleeves that only went up to her forearm had been present. Her hair had been curled at its ends while her bangs covered her forehead. At the top of her hair, she wore a beautiful silver tiara with diamonds decorating along it, all while a pair of wings grew out her back as well.

“Each one of you guys-“ Natalya looked over at the other two, “We’ll each take out one of the smaller monsters, then after we’ll handle the big boss.” She then turned her head to Monika, noticing that now Mei had been on the ground coughing from starting to feel ill, “Monika, watch Tatyana and Mei.”

“You got it,” She nodded, now beginning to first lead Tatyana towards a corner of the cave for the sake of keeping her safe before going back for Mei. Mei at that point had been on her knees and holding onto her head; the dark energy of the test indeed beginning to catch up to her.

Just as Natalya had instructed with the plan, there were a total of four monsters present. Three smaller ones with the addition of a larger one in between them. 

Florentyna reached for the ring on her finger and threw it up into the air where it had taken the shape of a scepter. With her scepter in hand, a bright light in the shape of the sun had formed on it before she had sent a light attack on the creature that was on her. The impact of the magic had resulted it to burst with one hit, leaving its remains to cover on the ground.

Behind her, Elizabeta had been handling the second monster. It had growled; its eyes glaring right at her as drool dripped to the ground. She swallowed nervously since the monsters at the real Shadow Haunt were just as horrifying. Alas, she didn’t stop herself as she held her hands up into the air; what looked like a wave beginning to take shape around her as the water rushed directly through the monster. The water, which had been fast, was quick enough to slice anything if it were in its path. Each slice of the water being enough to chop the monster up into pieces before its remains dropped to the ground.

Natalya looked at the monster she had been dealing with. It was just as smaller as the other two that were taken down, which didn’t stop her confidence from coming into fruition. She had reached into the pocket of her skirt where a crystal was being kept. This crystal was important to her that she would only use it in emergencies… And usually, emergencies entailed when she was to transform into the Princess. 

But for now, she would only use a little of its power to sent the creature off.

She squeezed it for a moment before placing it back into her pocket. Soon enough, the magic began to form in her eyes as a bright glow came from her pupils. She held both her hands out; one that consisted of a fiery flame while the other had been in the shape of a heart made out of ice. She had combined both hands together to create a powerful orb of magic before sending it in the direction of the creature. The creature was burst into flames; its loud screeches filling the cave before within seconds, ice formed around its body. 

All it took was one kick too the ice with Natalya’s foot to have it immediately shatter into multiple pieces. 

Three monsters were down, now leaving one more to go.

“Natty, we should do a convergence spell!” Florentyna looked over at the other blonde; panting as she did so, “It should be able to take it out.”

“I agree-“ Elizabeta nodded. She had never done a convergence spell, but she had heard many things about it being enough to take on bigger enemies.

And so, Natalya nodded as she flew in between them, “Give me your hands. I’ll transfer some of my power to you guys to make sure you don’t get sick,” 

Being still in the cave was a dangerous situation as they were all at risk of losing their powers. If they were to combine their powers together, then it should be enough to not only beat the final monster but to break an opening to get out of it.

Her eyes were closed as she focused her energy into the spell. As she did so, Florentyna and Elizabeta followed in pursuit as magic began to form around the three fairies. In front of them, a giant orb of magic began to take shape while the monster in front of them screeched louder and louder—

—to the point of where it was now charging at them.

_“NOW!”_

As this was said aloud by Natalya, the three fairies remained midair as their eyes were now glowing of magic. All of their hands were connected as they rose the orb together; sending the powerful blast of magic right at the direction of the giant monster. 

The one orb being enough to send the creature flying off to the other side of the cave. Another loud cry could be heard before soon, an explosion had followed. The three fairies had shielded themselves as the remains of the creature went flying across different parts, but it was enough to guarantee that the monster was done for…

…which was exactly what Headmistress Radella wanted to see.

Natalya, Florentyna, and Elizabeta had slowly lowered themselves to the ground as the sounds of clapping could be heard. All six members of the group looked around in panic; wanting to find the source of the clapping before they were all soon greeted to bright light. 

The cave had vanished. The deceased parts of the monsters had vanished. All that could be seen was where they had first started - which was inside of the magical reality chamber where both Radella and Professor Polonium had been staring right at them. 

The button beside Radella was pressed as she leaned over to speak into the microphone, being direct with what she had seen. She already had made her decision, “Natalya, Florentyna, and Elizabeta - you pass. For those who I did not name, I am sorry, but I am not allowing for you to attend the mission for your safeties.”

Shocked expressions filled all of their faces inside the chamber. Even for those who weren’t named, specifically Monika, Tatyana, and Mei - they were shocked to hear such a thing. 

“That was… Way much harder than any test,” Florentyna couldn’t help but comment as she stood there; snapping her fingers as magic formed around her. From there, she had transformed back to her casual attire and turned to look over at the others. 

“I agree…” The sound of disappointment had been in Monika’s tone of voice. She wasn’t expecting to hear that she had failed, but the Headmistress wasn’t lying about it being intense, “I couldn’t even transform… I thought it, but I couldn’t… and just thought about using the magic I did have to protect Tatyana and Mei…”

While the two were in their conversation, Mei had been kneeling on the ground. She was absolutely shocked. She had thought that she had helped with the test… But instead, she had used her magic at the worst timing. She had caused the cave to shake, have monsters be summoned to attack them…

…And for that, she felt terrible.

Terrible to where she could feel tears beginning to form in her eyes out of frustration. 

This was something that Tatyana had noticed right away. Now that they weren’t in the cave anymore, she didn’t feel pain anymore. She quickly stood up and knelt beside Mei, pulling her into a tight hug, “It’s okay, sweetie,” She smiled at her, wanting to show that support and reassurance to her, “It was a tough test. Just because we failed, doesn’t mean the next time we take it, we’ll be prepared and ten times stronger for it,”

Seeing the support that came from the fairy did bring a bit of warmth to Radella’s heart. It was sometimes a sad experience for a fairy to fail an exam. She always felt bad having to fail students on their exams if they didn’t meet certain passing criteria… And that was because she had to make sure that they were prepared.

After all, once they graduated from Lenfia, they would be on their own with no help.

“Tatyana’s right, Mei,” Radella leaned forward and spoke into the mic. As she did, the two fairies had looked at her with shock, not realizing that she had heard them, “Everyone’s magic is different. I assure you, your powers will be needed on other missions,”

The supporting words did make her feel a bit better. After rubbing her eyes for a moment, Mei had stood up where a bright light formed around her body. Her fairy form had disappeared, where she was back into her normal attire before looking at the Headmistress, “Thank you.”

The door of the magical reality chamber was soon opened, allowing for the six fairies to step outside of it. Despite the exam portion being over, Radella had waited for them to all come out before allowing for the Professor to shut down the chamber for the day. 

“Natalya, Florentyna, Elizabeta.” The Headmistress spoke to the group once everyone was present. She looked directly at the three fairies who stood side by side of each other; serious expressions drawn to her lips, “I’d like to extend my personal congratulations for passing the test. Again, this exam is usually administered to magical beings who have been trained for years and years. So it makes me proud to know that you ladies were able to pull it off…” She sighed. A deal was a deal, after all, “I’ll grant you permission to go to Shadow Haunt and rescue the Pixies.”

“When can we leave?” Natalya had asked right away. If they were given permission to go, there was no time that needed to be wasted. The longer they waited, the more of a chance of something bad happening to the Pixies.

The question was sudden. But it was one that Radella had to answer, since she did have a deal with the girls, “Shadow Haunt is the source of all negative energy. You all got to experience it,” She began, “I… Just want to confirm again with you all. All I know about Shadow Haunt is that the demon that lingers in it is a figure that is worshipped by witches and warlocks in their covens. A demon with a lot of dark, magical energy, that if he finds you, he can wipe you all out with the snap of his finger.”

“We can do it,” Florentyna spoke up seeing that Natalya’s question wasn’t answered just yet. She took a step forward towards the Headmistress and took in a breath, “If we combine our powers together, we can protect each other,”

“I agree,” Elizabeta looked over at Florentyna and Natalya with a concerned expression on her face, “You were right, Headmistress. You can’t control what it does to you. By the time I left Shadow Haunt, I lost all my powers… But, having Natalya and Florentyna by my side made me realize that if we go together as a team, we’ll be able to do it.”

“So that leaves the question again,” Natalya persisted, “When can we leave, Headmistress?” 

“…Okay.” It seemed that the three seemed eager to go. She didn’t blame them. After all, they now got to see what Shadow Haunt was like. It was dangerous for not only them but deadly for the Pixies that were already trapped there. She had no idea how they were - they could be dead, but she didn’t even want to propose such an idea to them, “I’ll need to get in contact with someone briefly. But, if you’d like to leave today, I can make the arrangements for your departure. Understood?”

All three of them gave nods of understanding. This was something that they could all agree to. And thus, leading to the entire group to be dismissed before the arrangements were finalized. 

There was something that still bothered Radella after dismissing them. While half of them did succeed in passing the exam, she was still worried at the fact of the demon that lingered in Shadow Haunt. If the demon were to find out that someone with stronger power was to enter his territory, she worried that he may find Natalya as a prime target.

Thus, leading to her decision to reach out to a fellow colleague on a proposal before the departure was to take place later that day.

The departure was decided to happen in the evening. That way, students who were still in class would have a chance to go back to their suites and not have to witness the scene that was taking place. After all, what was happening was mostly confidential, that the last thing she needed was for her students to panic at the thought that there were Pixies currently trapped in the hands of a terrible, dark creature in a place where fairies could get killed.

That was why she had taken the extra precaution to make sure that her students who had passed and are able to go would at least have some back-up in case they needed to fight.

Everyone was to meet at the entrance of Lenfia at around 8 PM. There, the Headmistress would be dismissing them with a bit of a surprise that the three who were chosen to go wouldn’t be expecting.

The six fairies had been present at Lenfia’s gate ten minutes before they were to take their departure. For extra precaution, both Natalya and Florentyna had packed additional things that they would need. Food, water, potion, and even clothes because no one knew how long this trip would take. They also had brought additional supplies for Elizabeta. After all, she didn’t have a lot with her since she technically wasn’t a student at Lenfia and had none of her belongings, so they didn’t mind sharing.

The remaining three, Tatyana, Mei, and Monika, had all attended the departure to at least wish them all good luck on the mission. It was a dangerous mission that they were about to set off on, so they all had to support each other as best as they could - even if they couldn’t be together. 

As they all waited for the Headmistress, Elizabeta had been dealing with something else. 

Loud wailing and crying could be heard in between the palms of her hands as she had been standing there in her traveling attire. The traveling attire she wore matched Natalya and Florentyna’s, which was mostly for hiking because they would be relying on their physical strength more than their actual powers. She had been looking down at her hand, where CeCe had been crying upon being told that she would be leaving for a day or two.

“CeCe…” Elizabeta sighed softly when listening to the baby Pixie cry. She understood that the Pixie was scared. She was scared too, but she had to be strong in order to bring the rest of the Pixies back home, “I’m sorry. I need you to stay here at Lenfia, where you’ll be safe,” She began in a reassuring tone of voice, “I won’t be gone for long, I promise. Plus, it’ll be okay. I already spoke with Tatyana and she said she’d read you bedtime stories as I do.”

The crying seemed to have calmed down a bit when Elizabeta had said this. CeCe had looked up at the other; her teal-green eyes full of tears as she whimpered and hugged the other’s finger, “P-Prwomwise, Lizzy?”

A chuckle escaped from in between Elizabeta’s lips. She reached over and gently stroked the Pixie’s cheek with her index finger to show that comfort, “I promise. And when we’re back with the rest of your family, we’ll throw a celebration at the Village.”

It was a good thing that at least CeCe was more understanding of the situation. While she was indeed a baby Pixie and more on the younger end, being patient for Elizabeta to return in exchange for a party after was something that any Pixie would enjoy a lot.

The sounds of footsteps could be heard as their conversation came to a close. Turning around, not only was Elizabeta greeted to the sight of Headmistress Radella walking over, but she and the other five fairies were greeted to the sight of an older man walking with her…

…This older man being an individual that the remaining five fairies immediately recognized.

“Headmaster Elijah?” Were the first words that had broken out from Florentyna. She stepped over to the two administrators; expressing her shock, “What are you doing here if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Well child,” The Headmaster had given a smile to the girl as a greeting, before turning his head over to the rest of the group, “I was told that a few second-year fairies were taking on a mission meant for individuals part of the Magix council… And your Headmistress has reached out about the mentioning of a need of a support team.”  


“A support team?” Monika spoke up upon hearing the mentioning of this. She turned herself to face the two administrators with a bit of hope in her eye, “I mean, we’re all still here. Myself, Mei, and Tatyana could join and support the others if need be—“

“Not that kind of support team, Monika,” Radella had spoken up now with a small smile to her lips, “I think they should be arriving at any minute, yes?”

“Yes…” Elijah nodded as he looked towards the sky, taking in a breath as he admired the fresh air of the evening, “…There’s an expectation that all heroes are on time for any mission, or else they won’t get to attend.”

_“…All heroes?”_ Everyone had said in unison.

As Radella had predicted, a bright light began to lower itself from in between the clouds. The wind had picked up, resulting in those standing there on the ground to shield their faces from the hard wind that came from what looked to be a vehicle. It wasn’t just any vehicle - it was a large hovercraft.

A large hovercraft that they all immediately recognized, except for Elizabeta.

“What!?” Mei glared at the craft, clearly angered at the sight of it, “That’s not fair!”

“I agree!” Monika shot a look over at the two administrators, “How come _they_ get to go? They don’t even have powers.”

“Which means they don’t have powers to lose, Mei,” Radella cleared her throat as she said this. It was a very valid point. After all, when a fairy lost their powers, it was a draining, painful process that immediately made them ill.

The fact of the matter was that three out of the six of them managed to survive the test without getting sick. However, since it was a dangerous mission, they shouldn’t go alone with being at risk of losing their powers and getting sick. If there was someone else with them, without powers, then they would have a support system that didn’t involve a magical being.

The aircraft was lowered down to the ground where the doors of it slowly began to open. The entire time, angered expressions had filled Monika and Mei’s faces seeing that they were not happy about the situation at all. 

Especially for the first face to have walked out of the aircraft being someone they all knew.

_“So my older ‘sis failed an exam for the first time?”_

The albino that stood outside of the aircraft had a large smirk on his face as he met the eyes of Monika who had been glaring him down. It was at that point she was rolling up her sleeves, “GILBERT-!”

“Whoa whoa whoa whoa,” Tatyana had reached over, pulling the other back with her arms, “Easy there, tiger.”

Getting angry at the fact that the heroes got to go on a magic-based mission was an understanding reason for the fairies to get mad. Tatyana had maintained her composure the entire time despite Mei and Monika being the ones to get angry. While she was upset about not going, she understood the position that they were in and how it was better for those without magic to go.

_“Way to rub it in,”_ Another voice had come from the entrance of the aircraft.

This time, it is one that they all recognized as well. Especially Natalya, who had been standing there with her jaw dropped and eyes widened.

“..Alfred..” She whispered, since if there was one thing she wasn’t expecting about who’d be joining her on the mission - it was her own boyfriend and his team.

There was an explanation that had to be provided. And so, Elijah had cleared his throat before returning to face the fairies who were in a mixture of angry and confused, “You see,” He began, “At UHB, second-year students are expected to take a course that required taking missions in unexplored territories all under faculty supervision. Some of them included dead realms, other dimensions, and even dangerous places similar to Shadow Haunt. Out of fifty teams, this team came top of their class. Alfred being first, Gilbert as second, and Mathias as the third. And as third years and in their final year of training, they now all have permission to take on missions _without_ supervision. So they should be a great help.”

“How’d a doofus like Alfred get top one?” Florentyna’s brows rose with amusement as the blonde smirked at her, “With doofus two and three getting placed as top three?”

“It is what it is,” Alfred responded simply. Just behind him, Gilbert had been laughing to himself out of spite of his sister, all while Mathias had also stepped out of the aircraft with the keys to it to indicate that he would be piloting for that evening.

_“It is what it is.”_ Gilbert and Mathias responded in unison to what was said, only for Mei to scoff in response.

“Boys are stupid.” She muttered, clearly out of frustration since while it was now clear and understanding why they got to go - she believed it was still unfair.

Elizabeta on the other hand, found herself agreeing with Mei as she glared at the three men. She thought she could handle going to Shadow Haunt with her two new friends, but the fact that they had to be babysat? By ‘heroes’? “I feel like I lost brain cells listening to that.”

What sounded like a hint of laughter came from Natalya as she turned her head around to cover her mouth. That was a statement she wasn’t expecting to hear, but the reality was that Elizabeta did have a point. 

“What are you laughin’ about, _Natasha_?” Alfred had called out to the other with a smirk grown to his lips. He noticed it, so naturally, he was going to call her out.

Natalya’s eyes widened hearing the statement, especially in reference to her true name, before she turned her head back; biting on her lower lip because it was so hard not to laugh, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry-“ She waved her hand, now wiping her eye a little, “It’s just… it’s kind of true.”

“Welp, making people lose brain cells is my specialty,” Gilbert smirked at Elizabeta. He didn’t know who she was, but the fact that she had the audacity to speak out like that, it amused him, “By the end of this trip, I’m going to know how to multiply faster than you.”

“And when we’re done,” Elizabeta followed up as she stood there, crossing her arms, “I’ll be the top _hero_ of the entire magic dimension.”

Alas, despite the conversation that had been taking place, it didn’t neglect the fact that there was still to be more information provided. The Headmaster noticed that the group seemed to be a bit tense, naturally because of the circumstances that they were all in with participating in this mission, so he gave them some final words.

“These men are highly trained and prepared for any emergency situation,” He first explained, looking at Elizabeta specifically when she had made the comment about wanting to be the ‘top hero,’ despite it being a joke, “As Headmistress Radella has made you all aware, there is a 70 percent chance you will lose all magical abilities. Medical attention will most likely be required, which they are all trained to handle as well. Mathias will be piloting the aircraft while Alfred and Gilbert will be attending with you three.” He explained, motioning over to Natalya, Florentyna, and Elizabeta.

There was no other convincing that couldn’t be done. The Headmistress and Headmaster had made their decision that it would be the heroes attending as support with the fairies, and that was final. With the doors of the aircraft being open, Gilbert and Mathias had already gone back inside to set up while Alfred had waited at the entrance, “We’re all set to head out if you ladies are.”

That was the cue for them to begin heading out. Nods of understanding were exchanged with the group of fairies before one by one, they had exchanged their hugs. Even Elizabeta had handed CeCe to Tatyana, who naturally had flown up to the fairy to sit on her shoulder before watching her bonded fairy begin making her way to the craft.

“Bye-bye Lizzy!” The Pixie giggled; waving off to the other, “I wuv you!”

One by one, Natalya, Florentyna and Elizabeta had made their way into the craft before Alfred had been the one to wave to the administrators and fairies, before pressing a button to slowly secure it shut. As he did so, of course before one particular person had taken a seat, he had reached for her wrist and pulled her close.

“You lose brain cells and you’re with me?” Were the first words he had asked the other; the smirk still present on his face.

Natalya wasn’t expecting to be pulled back unexpectedly like that. If anything, being pulled back and pulled close to him had her brows raise in amusement before she rolled her eyes and reached over to cup Alfred’s cheek. Her thumb slowly caressed along his skin, “I’m sorry honey, you say stupid shit sometimes, even if you’re top of your class.”

“Says the one who can’t properly pronounce words in English sometimes,” He smirked, now leaning forward where his lips met hers in a slow kiss.

The kiss was welcomed by the other, where the couple had stood there holding onto each other for a brief moment. Upon pulling back, Natalya patted the other’s cheek with a small pout to her lips, “You know English isn’t my first language. Shut up.” 

“It’s cute though,” He laughed. It was indeed amusing to him, since, with the place she had grown up on Earth, her accent was one of his favorite things about her, “Especially when you try to say something like, ‘circumstances’.”

“ _You try to say ‘circumstances’ in Russian and it’s easy,_ ”Natalya spoke now completely outside of English and directly translated into the Russian language, “ _It’s easy for you, but the Russian alphabet is completely different than the English—“_

“Hey lovebirds, sorry to interrupt the language-barrier conversation,” Mathias had called out from the pilot’s chair, resulting now in the two to turn over to face him, “But you guys gotta take your seats if we want to head off. Protocol.”

Being told this, Alfred nodded and let the other go, “Well, you heard him,” He responded, now smacking Natalya’s rear to motion her to the seats, “Go sit down.”

An eye roll was given by Natalya before she had walked over to her seat, which had been in between Elizabeta and Florentyna’s. The smack had her eyes narrow at Alfred, clearly since he may have thought it was funny, but she was going to get him back at some point. 

And she swore to it.

Mathias had waited until everyone’s seats were buckled before starting up the aircraft. It took about a five-minute process, but once everything was warmed up, he had pushed against the gas to slowly begin to have it rising itself into the air. 

With once burst of energy, the aircraft had been sent off flying into the air; leaving those who were on the ground still in front of Lenfia’s gates to be waving at them as they made their departure.

Being in the air now allowed them to now unbuckle their seatbelts and be able to walk around the craft. In this case, Alfred had been the one to approach one of the storage units to pull out some bottles of water, “We’ve got about an hour trip to get to this place,” He began, now tossing each girl a bottle of water, “So make yourselves comfortable.”

Each one of them had caught their bottle of water. Elizabeta however, was still curious about the entire situation. She opened her bottle, taking a few sips out of it before closing it, “Thanks, uh…?”

“Oh,” Alfred paused for a moment, realizing that he hadn’t properly introduced himself to the other. He held a hand out to the other to exchange a handshake, “I’m Alfred.”

“Asshole.” Natalya muttered under her breath.

“Not asshole, as my girlfriend may think,” He chuckled, “She’s just mad because I’m the one babysitting her when she wants to babysit me.”

“Yes,” Natalya huffed and glared at the other, “Because your Headmaster thinks we can’t handle this mission by ourselves.”

“Oh, so you guys are dating. That makes sense,” Elizabeta rose a brow hearing this since she didn’t understand why the couple seemed very close. She saw them kiss, but she didn’t know if there was anything more going on other than that. She eventually nodded in understanding before shaking the other’s hand briefly, then pulling back, “Alfred… Why do I recognize you? You look familiar.”

Indeed, she swore she had seen his face somewhere. Whether it be on television, or maybe in a magazine? She couldn’t narrow it down, but all it had taken was Florentyna to gasp and lean forward to the other, “It’s because he’s the Prince of Eraqion, duhhh.” She explained to the other, “You’re not the only royal here on this aircraft~” 

Then it all clicked. Hearing the explanation had Elizabeta think for a moment before she let out a small, “Oooh…” Of understanding. As a royal, most royals were aware of each other. Kingdoms had connections with each other at all times in case of emergencies, so it made sense as to why she recognized Alfred. Even Florentyna as well, seeing that she was the Princess of Solis, “What about the other two other doofuses?” 

“I’m Mathias,” Mathias had spoken out as he had kept his eyes on the road, paying attention with directing the craft, “I guess doofus number one.”

“Excuse me, lady,” Gilbert had slowly turned around from his seat. In his lap, he had been holding onto a bag of chips and on occasion had taken out a chip to eat, “That’s Gilbert to ya.”

“Okay, Gilbert,” Elizabeta responded with a chuckle and crossed her arms, “And it’s not _lady._ It’s Elizabeta.”

“Princess Elizabeta!” Florentyna spoke up, which had Natalya facepalm in response.

“Thank you Florentyna,” Natalya sighed and looked at the other. She crossed a leg over the other as she sat in her seat, “For reminding everyone in the entire craft that royals exist.”

Despite the clarification being provided, Elizabeta still had her questions. As she sat there, she was now sitting criss-cross in her seat while looking towards the windows while they soared through the sky, “So what do you heroes do anyway? I’ve never heard of that before.”

“Well, we’re not heroes quite yet. We graduate this upcoming Spring,” Alfred explained for clarification before going through the storage units again to grab a snack. As he stood there, he rested his rear against the edge of a table and looked at Elizabeta, “But we do a lot of things. Rescue operations, monster hunting, and primarily when we graduate, our roles will be dedicated to protecting the magical dimension.”

“Right…” Elizabeta rose a brow in unamusement, “So pretty much the guy version of a guardian fairy,” 

“Psht, not just that,” Gilbert spoke from his seat. His head had been focused on moderating the controls since he was the co-pilot for the trip, “But we get fancy-ass gear too.”

“…Like the stupid armor you’re wearing?” Elizabeta smirked at the other now.

Upon hearing this, Natalya and Florentyna’s jaws dropped immediately at the comment. Even Gilbert had gasped hearing such an insult, all while Mathias and Alfred had burst out laughing.

“Eiizabeta, that’s your name, eh?” Mathias had set the aircraft on auto-pilot, because this was a conversation that he did not want to miss out. Alfred had been standing beside him, still laughing at the statement before Mathias looked at the girl, “I like you. Natalya and Florentyna, you guys really picked out a good fairy to join us on this trip.”

The trip was very enjoyable. While they all knew that they were about to begin a mission that was very dangerous, they all had the chance to allow Elizabeta to get to know everyone properly. After all, she had known Natalya and Florentyna for a few days now, while she was just meeting the heroes from UHB.

Traveling time did take up to an hour. Where they had been going, in particular, would be the direct cave that would lead to the entrance of Shadow Haunt. This cave had been in a deeper part of the dimension where no being ever dared to go across nor into. It was hidden away to the point that it would be impossible to find it unless someone had accidentally stumbled upon it or was trying to find it. 

In their case, the group was lucky, because Elizabeta knew exactly where it was. 

Mountains were very present by the time they had made their arrival to the cave. It was darker, cloudier, and sharp rocks had surrounded the area to make it a clear known signal that it would be a bad idea if someone had decided to make their travels thus far. 

The other issue as well as the fact that the aircraft couldn’t go inside the cave, which was why Mathias was in charge of keeping it ready until the group was ready to depart after rescuing the Pixies. 

When they were closer, Elizabeta stood up from her seat and approached where Mathias and Gilbert were sitting to provide them direction on what to do, “The last time I was here, I took the North entrance,” She began, motioning upward with her hand, “And I _definitely_ do not want to do that again. If we keep going straight, I think we may be able to find the south entrance.”

“But isn’t the North entrance better?” Gilbert looked up at the girl with his brows raised, “It’ll get to Shadow Haunt quicker.”

“Well, I think going through the South entrance will be able to give that element of surprise,” Elizabeta explained while keeping her eyes up ahead of the direction of the craft, “The Dark Lord won’t know that we’re coming.”

“I agree,” Natalya approached the men and the other fairy with her arms crossed. She examined the area that they were in, not liking it at all, “There’s something up north that radiates darker energy. I’d rather it not take effect on the ship and leave us stuck here,”

It was a valid point that was provided by Natalya, to which they all nodded in understanding.

Alfred had sat down in one of the pilot chairs now and began to press a few buttons, “Let’s set the craft down then,” He began and looked at Mathias, “But keep us in the air. If Nat’s right about the dark energy having an effect on the craft, it’s better to not make direct contact with anything at all here.”

“Easy task for me,” Mathias nodded and slowly began to lower a lever on the monitor board. 

There, the speed of the craft had slowly begun to slow down that they were at a position where they were standing still midair. Right below the craft had been the entrance of the cave, which would allow for them to all enter right away despite being far up into the air.

“Is this okay for you guys?” Mathias looked over at the group, “This is the lowest I can get. It’s twenty feet, but we’ve got some rope in the back that you guys can use to climb down.”

“It’s perfect.” Alfred approved and walked over to one of the units once more to indeed pull out some rope to set it up so they could head out.

The process had taken about five minutes. Firstly, he had opened the entrance of the craft before tying the rope against a pole that was connected to the craft. He had made sure it was secured tight since there were five of them climbing down, that he didn’t want to risk anything with it getting unloosened. 

“All set here!” He called out from the entrance while everyone had already been out of their seats, ready to head out.

He had been the first to slide down the rope once everyone had been at the entrance of the craft. As he did so, he held onto the rope with a firm grip so he wouldn’t fall and hurt himself, before soon being greeted to his feet being planted on the ground. Alfred looked up where he could see Gilbert and the three fairies staring down at him, all while he held the rope secure.

“Y-You go first,” Florentyna said simply; her tone of voice sounding nervous as she looked at Natalya.

Natalya, who was completely unphased by the sight of it, stared right at Florentyna in shock, “You’re a fairy. You fly all the time. But you’re afraid of a damn rope?”

“It’s d-different without wings!” Florentyna insisted and took a step back.

Seeing that she wasn’t going, Natalya shrugged and grabbed onto the rope that Alfred had been holding onto. The thing was that growing up, she had done a lot of gymnastics and still on occasion did ice skating when she was back home on Earth. With one leg wrapped around the rope and her hands holding onto it with a tight grip, she slowly began to slide herself down where Alfred had greeted her on the ground; keeping a hand out so she wouldn’t fall.

Once her feet were on the ground, Natalya had dusted herself off as she looked at the male before speaking in a joking tone of voice, “If you had let go I’d actually kill you,”

“And that’s why I didn’t,” Alfred chuckled, knowing that she was messing around before he turned back to the aircraft to call out, “Who’s next?”

Elizabeta had followed when it was good to climb down. Similarly to Natalya, she had wrapped a leg around the rope and held onto it securely with her hands before lowering herself down to the ground. Once her feet made contact, she let go of the rope and looked back up towards the aircraft where Gilbert and Florentyna were next.

“Next!” Alfred called out. 

Florentyna, who looked horrified, didn’t step forward. However, Gilbert could easily go down the rope. The issue was that he didn’t think she’d go down he went down, thus resulting in him to stare right at her when she thought he was going.

“A-Aren’t you going?” Florentyna asked.

“Ladies first,” Gilbert responded bluntly and held onto the rope, now sighing heavily, “Cause I know that you ain’t gonna go if I go first. So go.”

Hearing these words had Florentyna’s eyes widen. It was a very scary case for her, but the longer they waited, she knew that she was making them all wait. And so, she had nodded and held onto the rope tightly. She copied what she had saw Natalya and Elizabeta with one leg around and her hands securely holding onto it, “O-Okay,” 

With her legs wrapped around the rope, she held onto it tightly and slowly began to lower herself down. Her eyes were shut, that she didn’t even want to watch while she continued to lower herself down more and more.

“Just watching this is making my anxiety go to the roof,” Elizabeta couldn’t help but to comment as she watched.

“She’ll be fine,” Alfred responded, keeping his hand securely around the rope so it wouldn’t move at all.

It took about three minutes or so for her to climb down a simple rope. While it was quick for the others, for Florentyna, it was a whole different story as she lowered herself down more and more. When her feet had made direct contact with the ground, that was when she had opened her eyes and let go. 

She let out a sigh of relief and stared at the rope, “I guess that wasn’t bad.”

“Yeah,” Gilbert called out from the aircraft before wrapping his hands around the rope to slide down it quickly. Florentyna jerked back quickly; not expecting for him to do such a thing. It was once he was on the ground that he let go of the rope; now watching it be pulled back up by Mathias, “ _Wasn’t that bad,_ she says.” 

Chuckling could be heard from the group as this said. In the meanwhile, Mathias had pulled the rope back up and took a final glance down at them, “Good luck, guys!” He waved to them; watching as everyone had waved back before he closed the doors of the aircraft to get back to the pilot’s chair that was on autopilot.

There wasn’t any more time that had to be wasted. And so, Elizabeta had taken a step forward towards the entrance of the cave. It was dark and narrow, but big enough for them to start walking through it, “Come on,” She began, “Let’s go.”

One by one, the group followed Elizabeta as she walked into the cave. The issue was that the cave had been so dark, that it was hard to see anything. It was there that Alfred and Gilbert had been the ones to reach into their gear belts; taking out flashlights to turn on so they could at least see where there were going.

The lights were enough to allow the group to get a better visual of what they were walking through. Just like any cave, it consisted of a lot of stone and rock on its walls. Dirt covered the ground, there had been droplets of water falling from on top of them, and it was very quiet to the point where it could be classified as creepy.

Creepy enough to the point where Natalya was the one who most enjoyed walking through it.

The group was quiet the entire time. There were no risks that they should make by talking, so it was mutually agreed that if they were to talk, it would be under certain circumstances such as directions or if there was a problem. 

Florentyna had been behind the group. While she was more towards the back, she’d much rather the rest of the group go on ahead and if there was something bad in front of them, they could warn her and tell her when she should be ready for battle.

However, her instincts seemed to have caught up to her when she had heard the sounds of low growling coming from behind her.

“G-Guys?” She began, her tone sounding hesitant as she turned around. There was nothing behind her, but she did rush up towards the light of the group, “D-Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Natalya asked and turned her head to face the other; raising a brow in confusion.

“T-That growling!” Florentyna spoke with fear in her tone of voice and expression. She couldn’t tell that Natalya didn’t notice anything wrong, but she felt like something was following them, “You know what. I’m not scared, whatever it is, I can fight it!”

As she said this out loud, both Elizabeta and Natalya shot a look at the girl as if they knew exactly what she was doing.

“Florentyna-“ Natalya reached out, “Don’t-!”

_“Charmix!”_

Seconds after saying the one word, the bright light of magic had formed all around Florentyna. Her traveling appearance had immediately disappeared to the famously known sparkling orange outfit she wore, as well as for the additional pair of wings that had grown out of her back.

She jumped into the air; looking around frantically as the growling began to pick up. It had gotten to a point where she had removed her family’s ring from her finger; tossing it into the air where it had taken the shape as a scepter. The scepter, which was now in her hands, was glowing to fill the cave with sunlight.

And that was when the growling was heard even more.

“So Florentyna wasn’t wrong-“ Alfred began in response, “I can hear the growling.”

“Me too,” Gilbert followed-up in agreement.

All as it had been taking place, Natalya and Elizabeta glared at the other fairy with annoyed looks to their expressions. They were supposed to be saving their powers and magic in case of actual emergencies. How were they supposed to take on fighting bigger creatures if they were in Shadow Haunt? 

If Florentyna was using her powers now, there was a risk that she could lose it when they would need their powers at a crucial time.

“Okay!” Florentyna kept her scepter held firmly in her hands before swallowing nervously; taking in a breath before she had turned to face the group. She had no idea where the growling was coming from, but it was enough of a hint that there was something going on, “You guys try to go and find a way out of here - and make it fast!”

Hearing those words was the cue that everyone needed to proceed with running forward. Even Florentyna had flew just behind them; keeping her eyes out to make sure that whatever was growling at them wasn’t following them. 

Running down the cave was a bit of a tricky process. With rocks and small boulders scattered on the ground, it was a bit of a mess, but the group stuck together as they sprinted as fast as they could with their only sources of the light guiding them.

However, what no one had been expecting was by the time they had reached the end of the cave, there would be a dead end…

…with a door in front of it.

“What the hell is this?” Alfred approached the door, staring at it as he kicked his foot against it. 

Nothing had happened. It was locked.

“Florentyna,” Elizabeta looked over at the fairy with a serious expression brought to her face, “Try using your magic against it. Maybe that’ll unlock it?”

“You got it!” Florentyna flew over the group and held her scepter into the air. With one swing; a powerful blast of magic had hit directly against the door in hopes that it would open it.

But again, nothing had happened.

Instead, the orb of magic that had sent blasting at the door’s direction all of a sudden, absorbed Florentyna’s power. 

Everyone’s eyes widened at the sight of that. It was a powerful blast that should have been enough to get it to open, but apparently, that hadn’t been the case at all. 

“That door just absorbed your power…” Natalya approached it and stared at the lock; running her fingers along with it. It looked like any ordinary door, but the interesting part of it was that the lock had no keyhole. It had to be opened by magic. But if it could work with Florentyna’s magic, what kind of magic would be enough to get it to open?

That was when an idea had formed in her head.

Despite them being at a dead end with the door, this didn’t neglect the fact that the sources of the growling they heard began to make an entrance, “Uh, you guys-!” Gilbert began, now drawing his sword from his belt.

Turning around, the group had been greeted to the sight of demon-looking creatures beginning to crawl through the cracks of the walls.

These creatures had been covered in a slime odor that was foul. Their necks had been long, while sharp teeth were revealed in their mouths. They had no eyes but did have a large body and pair of legs that could easily stomp them down if need be. In addition, their hands had sharp claws at least a few feet tall; enough to stab someone if they had managed to grab onto someone.

“I have an idea,” Natalya spoke up as she looked over at the rest of the group, “But I can’t have the monsters here. We have to take them out before I can do it,”

“And what’s this plan of yours?” Gilbert had asked, clearly not believing she had one.

“Just… Trust me,” Natalya glared at the other with a serious expression to her face before rushing over to where Elizabeta and Florentyna had been standing. They had to fight - there was no escaping it. As much as she wanted to hold back from using her magic, they had to fight now, or else they could get killed, “I know we said to hold back our powers, but I’m fighting. It’s either you join in or stay out.”

“We’re with you Natalya,” Elizabeta immediately responded, looking at the other in agreement.

As this was said, Elizabeta and Natalya had stood side by side as bright magic began to form along with their bodies before the same word that Florentyna had shouted before was said aloud together, _“Charmix!”_

All it took was a few seconds. The magic that had surrounded their bodies immediately filled light in the entire cave; changing their traveling appearances to their true forms as fairies. Elizabeta had stepped out of her light first to reveal her appearance, followed by Natalya who had stepped out of her own light.

The three fairies now, similarly to how they were together during their test, had split themselves against what monsters to take. There had been a total of six of them, leaving two for them each to take care of.

Natalya had flown in first and held her hands up into the air. As she did so, the temperature around the two creatures that she was faced had immediately frozen. This was used specifically to freeze their feet to the ground, so they wouldn’t be able to escape her main attack. With one hand up in the air; a large flame had formed where she had thrown it right at them, resulting in the monsters burst into flame and disintegrate into the air. 

Elizabeta had gone a different route. She looked around, noticing that the droplets of water that had been dripping from the top of them. She smirked at the sight of this as she held her hands out; what looked like a small bucket forming in her hands where she had flown up and caught some of the water droplets. The water was enough for what looked like something hot beginning to brew in the bucket, that as she threw it onto the monsters, it had been an acid. This acid soon resulting in the monsters to melt away with a loud hissing.

“That’s so cool!” Florentyna gasped as she had been in the middle of handling her two monsters. She had already taken one down by using her scepter’s magic but still had been dealing with another one. To finish the last one-off, she had this time formed an orb of magic in her hand where she had sent the magic right at the monster; going inside it specifically before the light began to cause it to explode into pieces. As she did so, she continued her conversation, “You have to teach me that trick, Elizabeta!”

That was when she realized it. 

With that one spell she had used to take out the monster, she noticed that there had been more monsters beginning to creep their way through the cracks of the wall. Yet due to how powerful her light had been, loud cries and hissing could be heard. 

“They’re all shadows!” She had gasped in realization, resulting in the two fairies to look at her, “Meaning, they’re creatures of darkness! Just like the opposites from class, Natalya! If we use light, they won’t be able to handle it!”

That was a fair statement. Natalya’s eyes widened in realization when the other had said this before smirking, “See, you are learning something from class,” She began, since she knew that the other struggled a lot when it came to her academics.

And so with this idea, Natalya had flew over to Florentyna and held her hand out, “Grab my hand. We’ll use a light burst to get them away temporarily so I can have time to open the door.”

A mutual nod of understanding was met by Florentyna as she reached over and grasped onto Natalya’s hand firmly. Both of them had closed their eyes and focused their magical energies together to form what looked like a miniature sun in front of them. Even Elizabeta who had been staying back couldn’t help but shield her eyes from how bright it had become…

…The light itself, resulting in all over the monsters that were spawning more and more to screech louder as they began to disappear into midair.

This was the time Natalya needed.

“Florentyna, focus on the light,” Natalya began and let go of her hand, “I’ll take care of the door.”

It would be quick. If she was right about it, then the door would be able to open easily with it.

Natalya flew towards where Alfred and Gilbert had been standing, who had been keeping their guard on the door until she could get there. She looked up at the two men, “Cover me,” 

“You sure you can handle this?” Gilbert asked her again since he still had no idea what he was doing.

“Just trust her, Gilbert,” Alfred looked at the other with a serious expression to his face. Just as his girlfriend had said, he had stood in front of her where she had been kneeling down in front of the door to inspect it; guarding her, “She knows what she’s doing.”  


And it was true.

Reaching into the pocket of her skirt, Natalya had taken in a breath as she had pulled out the one thing that she knew she could never lose.

It was a crystal.

This crystal had been one of the most powerful items of the entire magic dimension. It was the key to the entire magic dimension… Something that if any enemy had known it had existed, they would go after it. No one knew about its existence.

Even Radella and those who were in the cave with her. 

Her mother had told her that day when she had awoken as her true self - the day she had beaten her battle against Gelinda - that no one must never know of its existence. 

The crystal was held securely in her hands as she placed it against the lock of the door. With her magical energy focused on it, Natalya had closed her eyes and began focusing her power. In her hands, the crystal began to glow. A bright light filled around the fairy, that as she had focused her magical energy through the crystal, its magic had been enough to have the lock on the door to immediately disappear.

Disappear and out of existence, as if nothing had been there in the first place.

Seeing that the lock was gone, Natalya stood up now and kicked down the door with her foot. The crystal was stored securely back into her skirt’s pocket, where the pocket was magically locked so that only she could get it. The door being kicked open had Alfred and Gilbert look down at her in shock since they had no idea what she had done.

“How—“ Gilbert began with a gasp.

“See?” Alfred smirked and looked at the other before reaching down to help Natalya off from the ground where she was kneeling, “Told ya. Now come on, it’s clear! We need to go, now!”

As this was said out loud, the two fairies who had been keeping the solar energy in place to prevent more monsters from spawning had turned around and let the sun die out. There, they had flown right to the door where Natalya, Alfred, and Gilbert had already run through it, waiting for them.

Just with the light of the sun being out for a few seconds, it didn’t stop the spawning of monsters beginning to charge their way to the door.

Once Elizabeta and Florentyna were in, Alfred and Gilbert had run-up to the door to begin forcing it closed. Loud screeches and hissing from the monsters could be heard from the door, as well as the sounds of scratching as the monsters tried to scratch their way into the cave.

“I’ll seal the door,” Elizabeta began as she flew up to where the men were securing the doors. Bright magic had formed in her hands as she held it towards the door, now beginning to form something sticky against the opening of it. She had started from the top and made her way all the way to the bottom, before now applying the substance in different angles to make sure that it was secured shut. 

“Whoa…” Florentyna couldn’t help but gasp as she saw what Elizabeta was doing; watching as she had used her magic to barricade the door, “How did you do that?”

“I’m the fairy of all waves and oceans,” Elizabeta answered simply as she finished up barricading the door with one last layer, “I can manipulate all water, which means I can also turn all water molecules into any shape. That spell earlier with the droplets; I was able to turn it into acid.”

As she finished up the last layer, she paused in place. It was as if all of a sudden, a pained feeling came to her head. 

A feeling that she immediately recognized as she lowered her hands and felt her eyes roll back; now dropping to the ground onto her knees.

“Whoa whoa whoa whoa-!” Gilbert had been the first to blurt out as he held his arms out to catch her, “What’s going on?”

“It’s the dark energy,” Natalya answered simply and rushed over to Elizabeta so she wouldn’t collapse, “Headmistress Radella warned us that if we used our powers early, we could lose them… And what this dark energy can do is make a fairy severely sick. Fatigued, nauseous - but it all varies from fairy to fairy.”

“…Y-Yeah…” Elizabeta held onto her head as she knelt there; taking in a few breaths. Since she had gone through the same thing the first time she had visited Shadow Haunt, she had felt herself more immune to the dark magic. This didn’t neglect the fact that it did take an effect on her, which in response, her entire fairy form had disappeared with a bright light as she was transformed back into her traveling attire, “Exactly what Natalya said… It’s like, I finished doing the spell, and all of a sudden my head started hurting and I felt the chills.”

Upon seeing the hand, Elizabeta looked up at Gilbert and reached for it. She grasped onto it, allowing for him to pull her up before what looked like a bottle of water was handed to her, “Here, drink this,” Gilbert spoke up, “It’ll give you some energy.”

“Thanks,” A small sigh came from her as she let go of his hand, now opening up the bottle to take a few sips out of it. The group waited for her until she had a bit of energy before she closed the bottle and handed it back to Gilbert, “I’m all good. We need to keep going.”

Seeing that Elizabeta had been weakened, it was now a crucial point where they had to keep going without stopping. If there were enemies that spawned, they all had to use their energy to fight and escape. Especially after seeing how quickly the monsters from before had spawned to attack them despite taking most of them out, the group now understood what they were going against.

And it was nowhere near similar to the examination Headmistress Radella had put the fairies through.

The group walked in silence once again for the next ten minutes. This cave they were in seemed to be a bit longer, which was a good sign since it suggested that perhaps they wouldn’t reach a dead-end like before with the door. All they could hope was that when they reached the end of the cave, they either have to turn a corner, or were greeted to the actual entrance of Shadow Haunt.

Florentyna had been in front of the group after suggesting that the men turn off their flashlights to save their power. In her hands, she had held onto her scepter where she kept it in the air; a small, miniature sun radiating from the end of it to provide light for all of them so they could all at least see where they were going. 

“Don’t worry about not having your powers, Elizabeta,” Florentyna said reassuringly as she held onto her scepter, humming softly to herself with confidence, “So long as I and Nat have our powers, we’ve got your back.”

“Yeah!” Gilbert responded in agreement, followed by looking at Elizabeta with a bit of a smirk to his lips. The entire time though, she had an unamused expression on her face as she looked at him, “We all stick up for each other. If those shadow monsters from that stupid army of decay, I’ll be there to protect ya,”

“…As long as Natalya and Florentyna have their powers,” Elizabeta glared at him, clearly showing that she didn’t trust him at all, “I’m not worried at all.”

That was a big ouch towards Gilbert’s ego. He looked at the girl with his brows furrowed. Well, he tried, but he wouldn’t give up yet until the new girl at least didn’t see him as some sort of stereotypical hero. Since the vibes he was getting from it was that she thought the fact that he and Alfred were there was a huge joke.

Though, as she had mentioned the idea of Natalya and Florentyna having their powers, something inconveniently had occurred. 

In the midst of their walking, Natalya had been holding onto Alfred’s hand the entire time. After such an intense battle, she was frustrated knowing how quick those shadow creatures were… Yet, there was something else taking place.

Her stomach had been hurting. It was hurting since the beginning that they had entered the cave, but she didn’t say anything to alarm anyone. The fact that she had transformed and used a majority of her magic back during the fight, as well as her true power in order to open the door to help them escape - she didn’t feel good at all.

And the consequence of not saying anything was beginning to catch up to her when she found herself slowing down and suddenly finding herself too exhausted to keep going.

“…hey… wait…” Were the first words that came from her. It was at this point that she had let go of Alfred’s hand, resulting in him to immediately look at her. That was when he saw it.

Her expression was pale. Her eyes were rolled to the back of her head and she had stopped walking. Within seconds, Natalya’s eyes were closed as she slowly began to lower herself to the ground and held onto her stomach; groaning slightly.

“Natalya-!” Alfred’s eyes widened at the sight of this and immediately dropped to the ground; holding onto her arms so she wouldn’t make contact with the floor since he had no idea what they were walking on, “What’s going on, hun?”

“…my stomach…” Seconds after she had said this, the fairy form that she had once in immediately faded around her body with a bright light. Alfred shielded his eyes for a moment as the transformation took place, thus leaving Natalya in her traveling attire just as before, “I don’t…feel so…good…”

Seconds after saying this statement had been where she had fully collapsed to the ground. It was absolutely unexpected, that Alfred had knelt there holding onto the girl while looking at the rest of the group with a panicked expression on his face, “Gilbert, toss me one of those potions you got on ya, won’tcha?”

The second this was asked, Gilbert nodded and immediately reached into his bag to indeed pull out a potion. It was a simple pink liquid, but he had tossed it over to Alfred quickly who had caught it and opened it up right away. While Natalya had been laying on the ground panting slowly, he had helped her up and rested her body against his chest, making her drink, “This should give you a bit of energy back,”

“…Wait, Florentyna-“ Elizabeta’s eyes widened when noticing the scene that was taking place with Natalya. She turned herself around, which resulted in her to be greeted to a similar sight to what Natalya was experiencing, “Are you okay-“

The reality was that she wasn’t okay at all. Florentyna, who had a panicked smile on her face, stared at Elizabeta for a moment before she chuckled and rubbed the back of her head, “Yeah, I’m totally…not…” She stumbled a bit, “W-Woozy at all, haha! What are you…hah… looking at me like that for?”  
  
The reality was that she wasn’t okay at all.

Similarly to Natalya, her eyes slowly began to roll to the back of her head as the exhaustion and nausea in her stomach immediately hit her. Gilbert’s eyes widened when he saw this, resulting in him to leap right over to the girl before she had hit the ground because it was exactly what she was doing.

By the time she was about to make contact with the ground, Gilbert had caught her and slowly lowered her down where her face was just as pale as Natalya’s. 

“What the…fuck!” Were the only words that came from Florentyna out of frustration. If there was one thing she absolutely hated, it was getting sick. Being sick in general, especially when it involved her stomach. Though congestion and allergies? That was the one thing she hated the most, “I don’t feel good at all, I hate this-!”

“It’s the effects of Shadow Haunt,” Elizabeta responded with a frown brought to her lips. She felt the exact same way the first time she had wandered into the caves of the darker realm. Though for a case where it was Natalya and Florentyna’s first time - the effects were hitting them ten times worse than it did for her, where she was already used to it, “It’s much stronger than it was the last time I was here… which means, it may be harder for us to regenerate our powers the more we go into it.”

The potion that was given by Alfred to Natalya indeed did help with giving her a bit of energy back. She drank most of it before handing the bottle back to the other before leaning forward to kiss his cheek as thank you. Though as she heard Elizabeta’s words, she stared at the other from the ground, “…What do we do, then?” 

“…My answer to that?” Elizabeta asked as she watched Alfred slowly help Natalya up from the ground. Her arm was put around his shoulder while he had slipped his arms underneath hers to give her support, “That we avoid all and any contact with the Dark Lord. He’s a demon that’ll feed off of our powers completely. He can’t know that we’re here,”

“What’s he like?” Florentyna asked as she sat there on the ground, panting softly. It was at this point that Gilbert had taken out another potion and handed it to her to drink, before beginning to drink it. Once she finished it, she handed it back to Gilbert with a nod of thanks, “Scary, I imagine?”

“…actually, not really,” Elizabeta admitted and approached Florentyna and Gilbert. There, she had held out a hand to her to help her up with Gilbert so she could stand, “He… Looks like a normal human at first. But when he uses his magic, that’s when he transforms into an actual demon. Not good at all.”

“Well, let’s plan on _not_ running into him then,” Natalya spoke up and walked over now with Alfred, indeed regaining some of her energy back from the mini-attack that had come over her and Florentyna from the darkness. 

With their energy returned, this allowed them to continue journeying through the caves. It was a bit of a slower process seeing that their powers were draining from the dark energy, but all three fairies continued to push through with their physical strength to walk. The entire time, Natalya had kept her hand wrapped around Alfred’s, seeing that her energy was mostly coming from him at least providing that sense of comfort she needed at the moment.

Walking through the cave felt endless, About twenty minutes had passed since the shadow attack had taken place on the fairies, and so far, it looked like nothing had changed. They were still walking down a path with rocks and boulders with nothing changing…

…That was until Elizabeta noticed a difference in the scene.

Instead of there being rocks, there were now crystals sticking out from above them. These crystals, which had been in the shape of a light blue, sparkled above them that had her immediately recognize what part of their cave they were in, “I know this place,” She began, now resulting in the group to stop in their tracks, “There are multiple passages up ahead - one of them should lead to Shadow Haunt.”

“Multiple passages?” Florentyna looked at her with a small pout, “I don’t like the sound of that,” 

“Don’t worry about it,” Elizabeta said reassuringly as she stood there in place, “If we just find the right path, then we won’t have to worry about getting lost. The right one,” In the midst of her saying this, she continued on ahead without even thinking of the fact that the group was a bit slower.

Even Natalya had called out to her upon noticing Elizabeta go ahead, “Hold on!” She spoke out, “We’ll come with you.”

“I agree,” Alfred kept his pace slow for the sake of the other not getting sick again, “And please let’s not do what they do in horror movies and split up. That’s just bad ideas all around,”

Despite the suggestions, Elizabeta going ahead was surprisingly a good thing for the group - seeing that she was the one to discover a bit of an issue upon reaching the end of the cave.

There was only one passageway. Though instead of it leading to another part of a cave, there was an opening. This opening had been enough to reveal a waterfall in front of it, where below she was standing, was a large river floating in place. Based on the height, it had been about thirty feet. She had no idea how deep was the water, thus why she kept her distance.

“Well, shit.” Elizabeta sighed to herself upon making this discovery. It was at this point as well that the rest of the group managed to catch up to her, “I guess I was wrong about there being multiple passageways.”

Each person looked down at the sight of the waterfall. It was something that no one had expected to see because it meant that they were now in a dead-end once again. It was the one thing that they were trying to avoid.

“…What are we supposed to do?” As Florentyna spoke, she kept her distance away from the waterfall. The sight of it did not look appealing to her eyes, and she didn’t even want to think of what could be at the bottom of it, “Walk back?”

“No,” Natalya shook her head. If they walked back, they would only be greeted to the door that they had shut to avoid making contact with the monsters. There was no other way out…

…That was when she noticed it.

Looking down, she had noticed a passageway. It was similar to the passageway that they had come from, but the only thing that was different was that it was more south from where they were standing. 

Her eyes widened as she looked over at Alfred, “Does any of your gear have anything to do with ziplining?”

The question was completely off guard. Everyone in the group had looked at Natalya when she made the suggestion, thus having Alfred nod, “Uh, yeah. I can set one up.”  


“You’re joking,” Florentyna couldn’t help but to let out a nervous laugh as she noticed what Natalya was looking at. It was another passageway, but there was no way, “There’s no way a zipline can reach that! Why don’t we just go back and try to find another way—“

“Because there is _no_ other way,” Natalya interrupted her with her arms crossed, “It’s either we go back and fight monsters with no powers, or we at least try that route with the zipline,”

While explaining this, Alfred had already taken out the equipment that he needed to put together a zipline. He had walked over to the edge of where they were standing and knelt down; squinting his eyes a bit while in his hand, he had been holding onto a gun that had a sharp end with a rope connected to it. 

Once he had managed to locate a spot over the entrance of the other passageway, he had pointed the device over at it and shot the sharp end at it. 

A secure rope shot out of the gun he had been holding onto, while the sharp end had pierced against the stone to secure it in place. With the other sharp end, Alfred had reached to his tool belt after pulling it out of the gun to take out a hammer, before slamming it down onto the ground. He shook the rope a few times to make sure to was secure before grabbing some handles from his bag, “It should be secure.”

Florentyna had seemed to the most hesitant to even consider going down a zipline. How could it be guaranteed safe? She looked at the male with her brows furrowed, “You sure that’s safe?”

“Of course it is,” Alfred stood up and looked down at her, “You really think I’d set up a zipline if I didn’t know how to?” 

It was indeed a valid point that Florentyna had silenced in response, unsure of what to say completely. Instead, she turned her head around with annoyance grown to her face.

That didn’t stop the others though from approaching the zipline.

“I’ll go first,” Alfred explained as he sat himself down on the edge of where they were standing. In his hands, he had held onto the handles and slipped it through the rope before looking at the three fairies, “You guys got a little magic in ya to summon the handle back once I’m down there?”

“Mhm,” Natalya nodded when she heard this, “I think I have enough energy to cast one spell.”

“Great,” Alfred smiled at her reassuring before soon enough, he had pushed himself off the edge and went sliding down the zipline.

The entire time, everyone had watched with their eyes widened; making sure he didn’t fall or anything of the sort. However, Alfred maintained a tight grip as he rode down. Once he had reached below where they were and at the other passageway, he lowered his feet to the ground and let go of the bars to look up at the group. He chuckled, bowing as if he had done some sort of performance.

Just as Natalya had promised, she held her right hand out where an orb of magic slowly began to form as she cast a spell, “ _Returnus.”_

All it took was a few seconds for the handles that were once in Alfred’s hands to disappear. In mid-air, it soon appeared in front fo Natalya, where she had grabbed onto the bars and sat down on the edge of where she was standing. 

“My turn,” She smirked up at the group because if there was one thing, she was actually excited about trying something different for once and testing her true strength. With her hands securely on the handle that was connected to the rope, she pushed herself off the edge while holding onto it tightly; sliding down right where Alfred had been.

Of course, the second she had caught up to him, he had been the one to catch her so she could lower herself to the ground.

One by one, this was exactly what the group had done. Next had been Florentyna, who was forced to go for the sake of making sure that she wouldn’t try doing another alternative. Followed by her had been Gilbert, then leaving Elizabeta last to go down the zipline before the group had been altogether at the entrance of the passageway.

“That was fun,” Natalya began once everyone had arrived; stretching her body as she did so, “One thing off my bucket list.”

“Just one?” Alfred chuckled as he had taken the handlebars and pressed a button so they would miniaturize. Unfortunately, he couldn’t take back the rope since it was plunged directly into the rock, but if there was ever a case where they needed to go back to Shadow Haunt, it would be ready for them, “What’s number one on that list?”

Natalya paused when she heard this. Of course, she felt her cheeks go red before shaking it. No, she couldn’t tell him. It was something that she figured everyone would freak out about because there was one thing on her bucket list of things that she wanted to do that was sort of unexpected from her, “I can’t tell you.”

“But you can tell me,” Florentyna leaned forward and wrapped an arm around the other, “Right?”

“Nope,” Natalya stated while looking at the other. She wouldn’t admit to it so easily, “It’s for me to know and for you all to find out one day.”

One day… That one day is that her number one bucket item was to get married.

But that was something she couldn’t even admit to at all yet. Let alone, in front of Alfred, seeing that she knew the damn man would be crazy enough to start thinking of such a thing when she wasn’t even ready for it.

“Let’s keep going,” Natalya began walking forward towards the passageway, “Something tells me that we’re pretty close now.”

“Same here,” Elizabeta nodded in agreement as she approached Natalya to walk beside her, “Not in a good way either, because I feel like my magic is draining more and more.”

The fact that the zipline trick had managed to work and allowed them to proceed with continuing forward was a success for the group. Though once again as they entered the passageway, they were greeted to again another cave. Instead of it being littered in rocks and boulders, this time it had been dirt.

And with dirt, came the bugs.

The bugs weren’t that bad. However, for Florentyna, she had kept her eyes focused up ahead since she didn’t even want to think about how dirty her shoes had become from all the mud.

The fact that they were together as a group though didn’t stop the fact that one particular person teasing Florentyna. And that had been Natalya when they had walked, she had noticed what seemed to be a worm dangling on the wall. She paused for a moment, staring at the worm before reaching for it and approaching Florentyna with her hand in a fist, “You know what’s perfect for your skin?”

“Not this mud,” Florentyna couldn’t help but scoff as she kept her head up, “This mud is disgusting. See Natalya, when you finally get to visit Solis, I’ll take you on a spa day where we’ll get proper facials with mud made out of the highest ingredients—“

That didn’t answer her question though. Instead, Natalya had slowly opened her hand and brought over the worm towards Florentyna’s face as it wiggled around on her fingers. It took Florentyna a few seconds to process it…

…and when she realized the small creature in Natalya’s hand, she shrieked loudly.

“EW EW EW EW!” Florentyna had gasped and moved Natalya’s hand away, “Get that thing _AWAY_ from me, Natalya! Of course, you’d be the weird one and think it’s funny!”

Her sudden shriek had Natalya burst into laughter. The laughing that had come from her in addition to Florentyna’s freaking out resulted in Elizabeta and the two men to turn around in confusion while they walked.

Though upon seeing the worm in Natalya’s hand, it all made sense.

Alfred approached the other and stared down at the bug, completely unphased. He looked at Florentyna, and instead of siding with her… He had actually sided with Natalya while smirking, “You know, Florentyna,” He began, “It’s just a worm, It ain’t gonna kill ya. Besides, if you find a worm where I’m from, that’s considered luck.”

Laughter had both erupted from Natalya and Alfred as this was said. Florentyna, who was clearly annoyed at the two, stuck out her tongue in frustration, “You guys are mean. That’s not funny at all, that’s disgusting!”

“Then you’re never going to survive to go to Earth again,” Natalya responded before placing the worm down onto the ground. She cleaned her hands off quickly by wiping it off on her traveler’s shorts before motioning for everyone to continue walking, “My sister’s a gardener. I used to collect weird bugs growing up all the time,”  


“That’s because you’re weird, Natalya!” Florentyna shook her head out of frustration, “I swear, it’s hard to believe you’re a Princess when you do all this weird stuff!”

“Ah yes,” Natalya smirked, “And let’s not forget the fact that I used to go fishing with my father too. I’d hold onto that fish while it squirmed in my hands, it was pretty nice.”

The explanation that came from Natalya made Florentyna want to faint. Alfred the entire time had been laughing to himself; keeping an arm around his girlfriend since while she was taunting Florentyna, it was cute to him. Plus, there was something about Natalya’s weird personality that he found attractive.

Even if it consisted of her picking up bugs just to scare her friends.

Though in the midst of their conversation, they hadn’t realized that Elizabeta had gone ahead with Gilbert just a bit. It was when the three had finally caught up to them that they were all greeted to not a cave this time - but an opening.

An opening that had fresh air, but radiated powerful dark magic.

_“Guys,”_

Silence came from Natalya, Florentyna, and Alfred when they had managed to catch up. Gilbert had been the first to speak up when they did before turning to face them; his eyes widened in horror.

“We made it,” Elizabeta followed-up from when Gilbert had gotten everyone’s attention. From there, she had motioned to the sight in front of her, “… _This_ is Shadow Haunt.”

Everyone in the group was silent now as they all had the chance to see the view in front of them. While the majority of the magic dimension was full of beauty - this area was nowhere near the standards of beauty that they were all experienced with.

Stone and rock covered the area. It had been mostly open, with waterfalls running down from the sky as dark creatures were flying around what had been a castle. This castle had been covered in stone and rock, with sharp edges that if anyone attempted to touch it, they were at risk of getting themselves injured. 

Dark clouds filled the air as well. Above the castle, the clouds served primarily as a way of protection to keep the dark energy at bay. Glancing down from where they were standing as well allowed for the five members of the group to be exposed to the sight of the waterfall ending with black, odorous goo bubbling from below.

The sight was absolutely horrific. 

No magical being should ever want to go through it.

However, for them, they were on a mission.

A mission that no one knew what would happen the second they made their way into the castle.

And it all began with the lord of the castle immediately picking up the presence of other magical beings of light in his territory.

* * *

The sounds of creatures screeching from outside the chamber had filled the room. The room, which had been locked with a lock full of dark energy, had kept the Pixies secured in place to make sure there wouldn’t be any escape.

The only source of air they had was where the majority of monsters of decay had been flying around, resulting in fear to build upon all of their expressions.

“What are those things doing?” Meri, a Pixie whose hair was pulled up as she wore a beautiful gown shivered at the sounds that had come from outside of the barrier they were in, “It sounds like t-they’re eating something!”  
  
“Well,” Rani looked at the other whose hair was in pigtails; sticking her tongue out in response, “They should chew with their mouths closed. That’s so gross!”

The five Pixies that were locked in the chamber all glared in disgust at the sounds of screeching that had come from outside. It wasn’t a pleasant sound, but it was enough for them to be annoyed, thus leading for another Pixie by the name of Calli to cross her arms, “It sounds like a predatory call intended to scare us.”

“No…” Homura looked over at the others and approached them quickly in silence, before turning her voice into a low whisper, “Someone’s coming. I feel dark energy… And it’s not Lizzy either.”

Panicked expressions immediately filled all of the Pixie’s faces. Upon hearing these words, the screeching that had come outside of the barrier only continued to increase as footsteps could be heard. All it took was one glance in front of them for the Pixies to soon be greeted to the sight of a shadow figure approaching them; having them all pale on the spot.

The sight of the figure glaring down at them had all the Pixies back away from the wall of the barrier. They all hugged each other out of fear. 

They all knew who he was. After seeing what had happened with one of their previous fellow Pixie being fallen to him, which had been Ala, they were all absolutely heartbroken, All they feared was now that they would be next under being the presence of the Dark Lord Demande. 

“Don’t even bother!” Rani had taken a step forward toward the man-looking-demon; her eyes full of determination and no fear whatsoever, “You want to know where Pixie Village is, right? Well, we’ll _never_ tell you!”

That was where the entire situation had begun. It had begun with the raid of his shadow monsters going after all of them in the village that they had all grown together as a family. Pixies were born, raised in the village, and expected to be together forever until they had made that connection with their bonded fairy.

However, the day Lord Demande’s creatures had attacked in pursuit of wanting something, the Pixies knew that there was something wrong. Being kidnapped, the Dark Lord had persisted for days trying to get the Pixies to tell them directly where their village was after they all had cast a spell to make it invisible so his monsters nor he would be able to find it.

And telling the man the truth was something the Pixies would bring to their grave to not tell him. No one knew why he was actively going after them, and they wouldn’t risk a chance of him allowing him to get what he wanted.

“Your bravery is… adorable,” Demande had knelt down to glare at them with his eyes, dark as any black hole glaring into the Pixies eyes as they all quivered in fear, “But I shall make my request once more, loud and clear… Unless you’d like to end up like poor little Rala.” A moment was silence was provided to emphasize this point, which had all the Pixies shaking more violently, “… _Where is your village?”_

Whimper could be heard from the Pixies as he demanded the question. But alas, no Pixie had answered. Instead, they all kept their heads down and whimpered in fear, not daring to say anything in order to protect the home and place they had all grown up in.

Demande didn’t like this at all. With a clawed hand, he had reached into the barrier and reached specifically for Homura, whose eyes were widened as she backed away. The grip he had around the Pixie was tight as he brought the magical being close to his face and spat, “ _Tell me_ ,” He demanded once more, “Or else… I’ll eat you just like your little friend.”

Homura’s eyes widened at hearing this. She had begun shaking violently now as panicked gasps came from the rest of her friends. It was clear why he had picked her - she was the Pixie of all portals.

She knew _exactly_ where it was when it came to direction and coordinates.

“O-Okay, okay!” Homura had cried out, “I’ll t-tell you, it’s under a tree!”

“…A tree?” The demon glared down at her; his grip tightening.

That was when the other Pixies had realized this. All of their eyes had widened since the thing was that Homura wasn’t telling the truth.

_She was lying._

“Yeah!” Rani spoke up in defense of her friend, resulting in the rest of the Pixies to gasp. It was at this point that Demands had placed Homura back down into the energy-draining barrier and glared right at the Pixie who had spoken, “She’s telling the truth, okay!? It’s underneath the Banafruit Tree at the end of Magix’s forest! You’re close to if it, you get near the whispering falls, which is protecting it from any creatures like _you_ from getting in!”

All of the Pixies were frozen on the spot. The issue was that they didn’t know if Demande was dumb enough to believe such a lie since it wasn’t the truth at all…

…However to their shock, the fact that Demande had glared at them once more and turned around must’ve been an indicator that he believed it.  
  
“See… Now was that so hard?” He began with a scoff. After a moment, footsteps could be heard as he walked away; the trail of his cape dragging just behind as he called out, “You all better not be lying to me, Or else…

I will eat you. one. by. one.”

* * *

“So _this_ is Shadow Haunt… What do you think it’s like on the inside?” 

“Probably angsty and dreary,” Florentyna stood over the entrance with her arms crossed underneath her chest. Upon examining the sight of it, she turned to face Natalya with a small shrug, “Sounds like your kind of place for your personality.  
  
“Dark is one of my favorites, after all,” Natalya didn’t deny such a thing. After all, she wasn’t a colorful person despite her powers radiating as such. But if she was in a position where she had to go to a party but didn’t know what colored dress to wear, she’d immediately go for black because black looked good on anyone. She smirked as she nudged Alfred’s shoulder a bit, “I’m sure you wouldn’t complain if I wore black.”

Hearing such a statement had Alfred pause for a moment. He processed this statement because he had never seen Natalya wear anything black before… But for when it _did_ click in his mind, this being a memory where when she had visited his Kingdom for the first time and introduced him to the magic of lingerie…

…just the image of Natalya wearing lace with a tight matching pair of bra and panties had a goofy grin form on his face.

Regardless of the small innuendo being made behind the rest of the group’s back, Elizabeta had stepped forward and noticed that in front of them if they kept walking, there was a connecting bridge. The bridge didn’t look stable, but it looked like it was enough to handle them all if they were to cross it.

“We can take that bridge,” She spoke up as she turned to face the other four, “It should get us directly to the castle.”

The sight of it indeed looked like a stable bridge… But it also looked horrifying to the point where Florentyna had frozen on the spot.

Gilbert immediately picked up this change of behavior as he chuckled, “Well, I can tell right away Florentyna does _not_ want to go that route.”

Florentyna scoffed right away as she shot a glare at the other, “Sounds to me like _you’re_ the one who’s scared.” As she said this, she had taken a step forward and stuck her tongue out at him, “Maybe you should hang tight while the fairies handle it. You and Alfred are slowing us down anyway. We could just fly—“

“Florentyna,” Natalya grabbed her arm and gave it a squeeze. The girl immediately whined feeling it, resulting in her looking at the other, “I say this because I am your friend and know you’re smarter than this, but that is the stupidest thing I have ever come from your mouth. We are _not_ flying,” She corrected her now, her expression serious, “Our magic drains badly here. We have to save what we’ve got when we really need it,”

The explanation that was provided had Florentyna sigh when Natalya let her go. She knew she couldn’t question it as she nodded in understanding, “Alright alright, you’re right Natty,” She muttered, “Sorry.” 

“Okay, let’s not waste any more time then,” Elizabeta declared since the more and longer they stood there questioning if they should take the bridge, the length of the process it would be to find the Pixies and get out of there. The couldn’t risk any more of a chance of having their powers drained, “Let’s go.”

All of them had approached the bridge where Elizabeta had been standing in front of. With her hands held out, she had grabbed onto the handles of it since the bridge did not look sturdy at all. It meant they would have to take it slow in order to lessen the chances of it breaking. However it did, they had to be prepared.

“If it breaks,” She began, “Just hold onto the handles tight and try to climb up.”

“Easy enough for me,” Natalya stepped forward and grabbed onto the handles, clearly not afraid at all, “On Earth, there was this waterpark ride I always went on with my sister when we visited America.”

“…A waterpark?” Alfred stared at the other in confusion, “The heck’s that?”

At the mentioning of this, Natalya slowly turned her head to face him in shock. That was the one thing that made her very different compared to the others… She had a childhood on Earth where things were very different compared to the magical dimension. Plus, minus Gilbert, everyone grew up in a royal setting.

The circumstances were if what happened on Sparx didn’t happen, she probably would be the same as them with growing up in a royal life with her birth family. While that wasn’t the reality, she was grateful for the route she did grow up in because she loved her adoptive family from Earth very much.

“I’ll take you once we visit Earth to see my family,” Natalya said simply, “I think you’d love it. The ones in Moscow aren’t as fun as they are in America, but it’s still fun.”

Fast, chaotic rides at parks were her favorite thing. Alfred had gotten to learn this about her over the summer when she had invited him to join her to an amusement park on Earth. While he had assumed there would just mostly be walking around and spending time with one another, that wasn’t the case at all.

Instead, it was her dragging him along to every single crazy ride she could find. And it was fun, there was no denying it. Even though he loved maybe one or two fast rides, he stuck it out for the sake of how much he loved Natalya and rode them all with her.

One by one, they all began walking across the bridge. Alfred, Gilbert, and Natalya had followed Elizabeta just behind her as she led them towards the chamber where she believed the Pixies were. Though for Florentyna, she had been much slower; holding onto the handles of the bridge tightly while shaking in fear.

“I see the chamber up ahead. I think I can jump to it,” Elizabeta began while continuing to walk forward. She was eager since after long hours of traveling, she was confident to know that they were closer than ever before, “I’m going to go for it. When we reach the end of the bridge, you guys can wait… and also tell Florentyna to _stop_ looking down.”

At the mentioning of this, Natalya and Alfred had turned around to see Florentyna not looking good at all. Her eyes were widened, she had been holding onto the handle of the bridge tightly, and looked sick to her stomach, “I-I’m fine!” Florentyna insisted as she took small steps, “Y-You know I’m afraid of heights! I-I’m taking b-baby steps!”

“Holy shit Florentyna…” Natalya sighed in frustration as she walked back. This time, she held out her hand to the other, which immediately the other grasped before she turned her head over, “Alfred, can you help, please? In case she faints.”

“I-I’m not going to faint!” Florentyna glared at the other.

For Natalya, that was hard to believe. It was when Alfred had walked over from the bridge, the couple had helped the girl continued to walk across it very slowly despite everything staying stable. Gilbert had gone ahead to watch where Elizabeta was going, as well as keep an eye out in case the bridge did break or Florentyna fainted.

Elizabeta had been in her own world though. Upon reaching the end of the bridge, she had noticed what looked like rope from the last time she was there. It seemed that the Dark Lord hadn’t figured out her method of getting to the barriers was… And so, she had grasped onto it and backed up before launching herself off the cliff the bridge connected her to in order to swing herself upward towards the castle.

Everyone who had been on the bridge gasped at the sight of this. Even Gilbert who was thinking he’d keep watch on her didn’t expect to do that at all as he turned to face the other three, “ _Totally_ did not know she could do that.”

“What are we supposed to do, then?” Natalya asked while holding onto Florentyna; the girl’s arms over her shoulder while she walked slowly towards the end of the bridge, “Wait?”  


No one knew what to do. They didn’t know where Elizabeta had gone, seeing that the second she had swung herself up, she was now climbing up the castle all by herself similarly to the day she had first broken into Shadow Haunt by herself.

The castle just as before was made out of stone and sharp rock. She kept her grip firm though as she climbed up; hoping to find an opening. The majority of balconies were shielded with glass, which she figured was a direct response from her last visit…

…but to her fortunate self, she did find a different opening compared to before.

This opening had connected to underneath the balcony. It seemed to be a vent letting out air, which was her ticket to go in. 

And so, she had used all of her muscle strength to climb directly to it. It was indeed a hard process because she wasn’t used to using all her physical strength, but when she had reached the opening, she slowly began to climb herself inside it - leaving those who were still on the ground to watch the scene that was taking place.

It all worked out in her favor. Climbing in through the weirdly shaped air vent, Elizabeta crawled inside it until she could locate and opening from underneath the ground where the air was going through. She had pushed it up with her hands when she had managed to find one before opening it; now allowing for her to rise from the ground and step out of it.

She was in. However, she had no idea where she was going.

This wasn’t any sort of corridor similar to the last time she had been there. She had no idea if the Dark Lord had been keeping the Pixies in a new place, which left to her in the position of having to wonder where she was.

It seemed to be that she was in an outside area. There had been the wind blowing against her back, thus having her beginning to walk forward once she rose from the ground. She figured she’d just play it by ear and let her eyes figure out the way.

Though to just her luck, the air vent that she had crawled through had led her to the direct passageway of the new area that the Dark Lord had been keeping the Pixies.

And the Pixies, who were all seated in the barrier, noticed someone walk by with long brunette hair without even being aware.

All of the Pixies gasped at the sight of this, to the point where they ran up towards the barrier and called out, “ _Lizzy!”_

The voice immediately startled Elizabeta when she heard this. Immediately, she began looking around frantically - recognizing the sources of the voice right away. It was all when she had turned her head towards the right direction that she was greeted to the sight of the new cages with surrounding barriers that the Pixies were in.

And seeing them all together again - it brought a sense of warmth to her heart, as well as relief.

“Everyone…” Elizabeta gasped as she ran over in the direction that they were in. Right away, she dropped to her knees where a large smile grew to her face, “You have no idea how relieved I am to see you all together…”

“You came back!” Rani approached the barrier, yet kept her distance. If any Pixie were to get near it, they could get electrocuted. 

“Are you going to break us out?” Homura had followed-up with the statement; having hope in her eyes.

That was the plan. After all, she didn’t risk herself and her new friends getting there with no reason other than to indeed save them. And so, Elizabeta stood up with a smile drawn to her lips, “You bet I am.”

“What about Lord Demande?” Meri pouted and stared fearfully up at the fairy, “I don’t want you to get hurt again.”

“Don’t worry,” There was a smirk on Elizabeta’s face now. She came prepared, but she didn’t know if the Pixies were ready to know. There was also that addition too that taking her time to heal at Lenfia really did make her stronger, as well as gave her time to reflect and prepare for taking on that journey back to Shadow Haunt, “I brought some back-up.”

Back-up? The Pixies all exchanged confused looks at one another at the mentioning of this. Did it mean that Elizabeta had gone back to her Kingdom and brought along some guards, or was it something else completely?

Elizabeta looked around the room they were in. It was much different compared to the room the Dark Lord had kept the Pixies in last time. She wondered if it had been because of her break-in before and managing to help with the attempt to escape. Unfortunately, while it wasn’t successful, she did have people that would make sure they’d get out easier.

“Homura,” Elizabeta looked at the Pixie with a small smile to her face. She was the Pixie of portals - she could tell her exactly what to do. She knelt down on one knee to make eye contact with the magical being as the Pixie looked up at her, her blue eyes bright and wide, “Is it the same thing as before? The source of what’s keeping the trap?”

“…Yes!” Homura nodded, “I think so!”

“Do you think you can direct me to it, then?” Elizabeta asked and stood up.

Hearing the question, Homura nodded and looked around the room for a moment. She didn’t know where exactly it could be, but with closing her eyes, she thought for a moment and allowed for her magic do guide her to the source. Her eyes glew as she looked up at Elizabeta, now pointing off behind where the fairy was standing, “There, Lizzy! In that skull!”

Turning around, Elizabeta listened to the Pixie’s instructions before looking up to be greeted to the skull looking right down at the Pixies. If that was the source, she’d just have to do the same thing that she had to do before, and destroy it, “I’m on it,”

She stood in place now before holding her hands out. In her hands, a bright orb of magic had formed before Elizabeta took in a breath and brought it to her chest to say the one word that she’s been saving her magic for.

_“Charmix!”_

As the enchantment was said aloud, the orb that was in her hand surrounded her entire body. All it took was one second for her to transform out of her traveler’s attire, straight into her fairy form. She stepped out of the glowing light, where all the Pixies had looked at the other with eyes of admiration and fascination. 

Elizabeta took in a breath and approached the skull now that she was able to use her full power. In the palms of her hands, she had cupped them together to form a powerful wave floating before shooting it right at the direction of the skull with a powerful blast. The Pixies gasped upon the sight of it, which after it had taken the hit, the fairy watched to see if it did anything.

But nothing happened.

“What?” Elizabeta’s eyes widened as she looked back at the barrier that the Pixies were trapped in, “What’s going on?”

“Did the Lord put a darker spell on it?” Meri asked with panic in her tone of voice.

“Maybe. He’s probably still angry I was able to break it the first time…” Elizabeta thought for a moment. It made sense, which was why she wouldn’t give up, “I’ll go a bit harder.”

Instead of using the same spell, she had held her hands out where two bright orbs had formed in the palms of her hands. Bringing both orbs together, it had become a bigger orb of magic before she had launched it right at the skull once again.

However, nothing happened once more.

This was frustrating the girl. After two powerful blasts of magic, it wasn’t enough to break the skull? Her body began to tremble in anger as her hands were in tight fists, “Fine.” She began and stepped back from the barrier, “Guys, stay away from the barrier.”

The warning had the Pixies look at each other in confusion. Though with a nod, they all went to the other sides of the barrier, allowing Elizabeta to do what she needed to do.

Waving her hands, Elizabeta had formed what looked like pools of water midair. The water had broken into a wave now, which circled around her slowly at first… Before picking up its pace. The faster it went, the more of a sharper impact it would have before she swung her hands at the barrier and shouted out the spell, “ _Tidal stab!”_

The wave that was circling at a fast pace around the girl immediately went flying directly to where the barrier was; piercing straight through it to the point where it had shattered into pieces. The Pixies gasped when this happened, thus resulting in them to shield themselves while Elizabeta dropped to her knees and panted heavily.

She used all her magic in that one attack… Yet, she still had a bit of energy to maintain her fairy form.

Looking up, Elizabeta’s eyes widened seeing that the barrier that had the Pixies trapped being gone. It worked…! Relief filled her expression before she stood up and rushed over; the Pixies one by one flying out of the trap and tackling themselves straight into the fairy’s chest.

“You did it, Lizzy!” Meri cried out in amazement.

“How did that work!?” Homura gasped and looked up at the skull, which had no damage at all, “I detected the power source coming from that skull!”

“I have no idea,” Elizabeta smiled - she didn’t care. The Pixies, all five of them that were in her arms, were held close in a close embrace as she panted softly, “I used all my magic in that one attack. It should be okay now…

…Let’s go see that back-up I was talking about and get the hell out of here.”

Fortunately for the Pixies and Elizabeta, the back-up consisted of good people. Yet this back-up seemed to be more focused on making sure one person didn’t faint from her fear of heights.

Just outside of where Elizabeta and the Pixies were located, the question that Natalya had asked was met with the response of indeed waiting. There was nothing they could do other than keep their eyes out, and also make sure that Florentyna didn’t faint from this sudden huge fear of hers. 

Walking down the bridge while Gilbert was ahead to keep watch was probably one of the most frustrating things Natalya had to ever deal on a mission. She cared for Florentyna, but she was lucky that she was on her good list because she was being very patient with her.. All in the meantime, Alfred had taken his time since he also didn’t want to deal with Florentyna fainting and having someone down in case there was a fight.

It was when they were about a foot away from the edge of the bridge that Natalya and Alfred let her go. She could watch on her own, especially since there were only a few inches away from the end of it. Florentyna still was scared though, resulting in her panic to full-blown kick in as she held onto the handles of the bridge once more.

It made Natalya wonder.

“Are you really okay, Florentyna?” Natalya had asked while keeping her eyes out on the girl. There was something about her behavior that made her wonder if her sudden weakness was due to her powers draining in Shadow Haunt. 

She didn’t feel sick though since detransforming out of her fairy form. She’s felt completely fine not having to rely on her power, so maybe Florentyna really wasn’t just feeling well.

It was at this point that Natalya sigh. She didn’t know as she looked over at Alfred who was staring there in confusion at Florentyna’s very dramatic and slow walking, “I can’t tell if it’s her powers or just her,” 

It felt like the longest two minutes watching her go across the final last foot that there was of the bridge. Just standing there made them unaware of their surroundings all while Gilbert seemed to be focused on where Elizabeta had climbed onto.

Everyone had been distracted by their own concerns. Alfred and Natalya were in charge of making sure Florentyna didn’t get sick, all while Gilbert was keeping an eye out for Elizabeta if she managed to find the Pixies. 

That was the perfect opportunity for three _certain_ individuals to make their strike.

Rising slowly from the ground, no one could see them. An invisibility spell had been cast over them that it was impossible for even Gilbert to see them, despite him looking right in their direction.

It was when a sudden bolt of lightning that had come flying out of nowhere that managed to change everything.

The lightning bolt went directly for one person. The one person that the three individuals despised more than anyone in the entire dimension. With Natalya standing there all by herself with nothing protecting her, that was their cue.

_Natasha, turn around!_

A sudden voice filled her head. Natalya’s eyes widened when she heard this, that she didn’t even have enough time to react when turning around. All she could think about was Alfred, who was standing beside her at this point, where she had pushed him away from her when her eyes had met the sight of lightning being stricken at her. With that one bolt, it With hit her directly right into her chest, having her stumble to the ground with a loud cry of pain, “Mother fucker-!”

Alfred’s eyes widened when realizing why she had pushed him. At first, he had stumbled back in confusion, though the lightning was enough for him to realize that there was a bigger issue at hand. He was too focused on her though as he began making his way to her, “NATALYA!-“

Another strike was made. This time, another lightning bolt being sent directly to where Alfred had been running. The hit was made against his back, where his eyes had widened as he groaned loudly; taking the hit and stumbling straight into the ground.

The sight of lightning suddenly hitting Alfred and Natalya had Florentyna’s eyes widen in horror. She had made it to the end of the bridge now where she ran over to Gilbert in a panic, “What’s going on!?”

Gilbert didn’t even know. Though their confusion was answered once a dark shadow began to take shape around invisible figures. With the magic surrounding them, all it took was for a few seconds for the figures to begin defying in shape… Hair, eyes, a body, and the sight of angered, dark expressions glaring right at Natalya were enough for the two to figure out who it was.

_“Hello, Princess Florentyna. Gilbert. Lovely seeing you two here.”_

_“Yes indeed. We were wondering if by any chance we could have a small chat with Princess Natasha.”_

That voice. Hearing that voice was enough for Natalya to slowly push herself up from the ground with her eyes widen and shoot her head over to the source. Her expression paled immediately. It was as if every nightmare that she had as a child was practically nonexistent to the fear that she had experienced at the moment.

“Are you fucking serious!?” Were the first words that blurted from Natalya as she pushed herself up; groaning slightly in pain from the movement, “What is going on!?”

The frustration that came from Natalya’s voice had Alfred look at her in confusion. Though it was when hearing the mentioning of ‘Princess Natasha’ that he felt his heart drop all the way down to his chest. It had gotten to the point when he had turned his head to be greeted to the sight of the three dark figures that he slowly held his arm out in front of Natalya, almost protectively, “What are _they_ doing here? I thought the Magix authorities locked them up-!”

“So,” Gelinda leaned forward with a large smirk drawn to her face. This was one thing she absolutely loved. Seeing someone that she would be happy to see dead on the ground from one hit with her little boyfriend trying to protect her, “Did you miss us?”

“That’s so cute, look at that,” Aviana couldn’t help but to nudge Nebula, releasing laughter in the process of doing so, “The Princess’ little boyfriend is protecting her.”

In the midst of their words, Natalya could feel herself beginning to fume up in frustration. Alfred was exactly correct - the authorities swore and promised to her that they would never have to deal with the witches ever again! The fact too that they had caused so much destruction in the magic dimension, tried to take her power and kill her - she despised them!

She knew she was a fairy, but part of her wished the death penalty existed in the dimension as am emphasis to show how much she hated them. 

“You and Florentyna are second years now, hm?” Gelinda chuckled and ran a hand through her hair while saying this, “Funny. We would’ve been graduated by now and full-fledged witches.”

“Too bad you got sent to loony-ville,” Florentyna snapped at the other and stood her ground. Now that she wasn’t on a bridge, she felt a bit better as she stood in front of Alfred and Natalya with her hands on her hips, “How’d you like it? I heard a rumor you three were going to get sent off to a black hole because you were oh so bad there.”

“That’s funny,” Aviana spoke with a bit of a hum to her tone of voice, very amused at the statement, “They _tried_ to make us nicer… But I think they made us more evil than good.”

As this was said aloud, Aviana held her hands out where sharp knives made out of rocks had formed in front of her. All she had done was wave her arm, sending the sharp boulders flying right at the two men and two fairies’ directions.

The thing was that Natalya wouldn’t have it.

She stood up immediately, standing right where the knives were coming before holding her hands out to form a barrier, “ _Protectus!”_ She shouted; the knives immediately disintegrating the second it had made contact with a barrier made out of the flame, protecting all four of them. Even if she was in pain and didn’t have a lot of magic to fight, she was angry enough to the point where her magic was coming out by force.

The barrier was closed the second she had lowered her hands down; panting softly in the process of doing so. In front of her, all she could see was Aviana and Nebula smirking down at her, which made her notice that Gelinda wasn’t there at all.

_Again, behind! She’s flanking!_

The voice immediately filled her head once more. Natalya turned her head around, indeed figuring out right away where Gelinda had gone, which she had been lingering over Florentyna specifically.

“Florentyna-!” Natalya cried out in a panic, “Behind you!”

The callout had Florentyna pause for a moment as she turned herself around. Right there, she could see that Gelinda was flying over her with dark magic filling the palms of her hands in preparation for launching an attack. She didn’t know how to react or respond, which had Gilbert drop his weapon to tackle Florentyna to the ground so she could dodge the hit.

It was a sudden tackle, but Florentyna had sighed in relief as she looked at Gilbert, “Thanks-“

“Keep a damn eye on your awareness, Florentyna!” Gilbert glared at her with a serious expression on his face. He held a hand out to her after getting up to help her up, “Sorry. This is just way too freaking unexpected.”

“Unexpected or not,” Natalya took a step forward now; magic beginning to form around her hands as she glared up at Gelinda, “First I’m going to send each one of you back, then I’m going to put together a damn bill to bring the death penalty to this damn dimension!” She began in frustration before slamming her foot down, “ _Charmix!”_

The one word being said aloud resulted in the magic in her hands to form around her body. Taking one step forward, her entire appearance had changed in front of the witches to her fairy form that was familiar by the group. She was angry - angry to the point where she was saying things that emphasized this. 

Florentyna had joined in as well with her own transformation. The reality was that while she could tell that Natalya was angry, she knew her friend needed her support there and then because she was also upset and frustrated. The witches appearing out of nowhere was the last thing that the group needed - especially in a place such as Shadow Haunt, where magical beings of light lose their powers easily.

Stepping out of her own light, her appearance had completely changed as well with the signature orange sparkling outfit, her hair in two low pigtails with a blue headband on the top of her head, as well as a pair of wings grown out of her back.

For the witches, they didn’t care about the others. They had one priority - and that was Natalya herself. Though if they wanted to get to her, they needed to take out her allies first before they could really get to her.

This didn’t stop Natalya though from unleashing her first attack.

There was no way that she had any intentions of using the true powers of the dragon flame and heart of ice. That would put her at risk of the witches finding out secrets that she knew and no one else knew. So instead, she had held her hands out as a powerful blast of sharp ice had gone flying at Gelinda’s direction.

To her dismay, chuckling filled the air as the figure that she thought was Gelinda had shattered into pieces of rock.

It was an illusion. The kind of magic that they were going against from the witches was entirely different compared to the last time she had gone against them. Was it from the energy from Shadow Haunt? She had no idea. 

Florentyna was up next as she flew beside Natalya and held her hands up into the air. A bright orb of light that had strong heat radiating from it formed in the palms of her hands as she turned around to face Nebula, who was smirking as well. She launched her attack, shouting in the process of doing so with the intention of hitting the witch, “ _Solar blast!”_

The magic that was being sent to the witch immediately disappeared. What she had thought would be enough to take out a witch, it wasn’t the case at all. Instead, Florentyna was greeted to the sight of Nebula holding her hand out and stopping the orb of magic. She grasped onto it; crushing it before bringing what was left of the magic to her lips to blow against it.

This one blew - being enough to form what looked to be a large tornado beginning to build-up in the air.

“Natalya, get behind me, quick!” Florentyna had shouted in a panic when seeing this. Quickly, she had taken off the ring from her finger and tossed it into the air where her scepter had taken its shape. She held the scepter in the direction of the tornado; forming a barrier to protect her and Natalya. 

The issue as that the tornado was too strong. It was too strong with powerful, dark magic that she found herself beginning to cry out in pain and agony trying to keep it back. Natalya noticed this immediately and knew right away the other wasn’t going to be able to handle it, so the quickest thing she could do was grab the other’s wrist and pull her away immediately to dodge the attack.

The darkness was beginning to catch up to Florentyna again. The tornado didn’t help at all. It was at that point that she had lowered herself to the ground and immediately destransformed within just two minutes of regaining her energy and power to fight. Natalya was shocked to see the sight, that she helped her sit down against a bolder and look at Gilbert, “Watch her. I’m going to fight.”

Gilbert nodded immediately and ran towards where Florentyna was resting. She was panting softly; unaware of what was going on other than the fact that she did feel sick to her stomach.

“Just relax,” Gilbert spoke and knelt in front of her. With his hand, he had reached to his belt to pull out a protective shield to hide the both of them - that way, Florentyna could take a moment to rest so she could maybe build-up some energy to fight once again.

“Natalya, Natalya, Natalya…” A tsking noise came from Gelinda when she witnessed the sight of the fairy tend to her friend and give instructions on what to do. She shook her head and glared right down at the fairy, “Always the damn same. Putting yourself at risk to protect others when you know we have a priority,”

“And that priority,” Aviana flew up towards where Gelinda was, “Being that we get our revenge towards you and your stupid family.”

There it was. The mentioning of her family that the witches despised. Her being the last heir and the last survivor of the Braginsky family was what they and their coven wanted to eliminate for being the most dominant, powerful figures of the magic dimension. It wasn’t just because of their power, but because they used that power for good rather than evil.

Positive magic being the most hated thing for dark magical beings.

Gelinda flew directly behind Natalya now, having the fairy turn her head around in a panic. Both of the witch’s hands were risen as what looked like a sharp icicle began to form in her palms before soon, it had been launched directly down towards Natalya’s direction with the intention of hitting her.

The sight of this had Alfred’s eyes widen since he knew that the girl wouldn’t be able to react quickly to such an attack. And so, he had run over and grabbed the other’s arm, pulling her away from the icicle, “Natalya, watch out!” He exclaimed as Natalya let out a jolt of panic being jerked back. The icicle itself slamming right against the ground, now shattering into pieces.

Despite grabbing her and pulling her, it was at this point that Alfred began running and dragging her to what he figured would be a safer area to where the witches were. When he had let her go, the two were hidden behind a large bolder where Natalya panted softly; placing her hands on her knees to catch her breath.

“Thanks Alfred…” She responded; looking up at the other with a relieved look to her expression.

Despite hiding behind that bolder, the witches weren’t dumb at all. They weren’t done with Natalya either, this being shown by Aviana appearing in front of the couple with a teleportation spell. Both Alfred and Natalya shot their heads up to face the witch before she had held a hand upright at the fairy’s direction where a dark orb of magic had formed.

“ _Posed hex,”_ As she said the enchantment aloud, Aviana’s attack had hit Natalya directly into the chest. It wasn’t any ordinary attack.

Instead, what looked like a bright shadow had wrapped itself around Natalya tightly to keep her secure. 

Natalya’s eyes widened realizing the position that she was in. She struggled; moving her body back and forth to see if that would loosen it at all. Alas, it did nothing, but only made it tighter around her body as she cried out in pain, “No-!”

The sight of it had Alfred’s heart drop. Anger built-up in him the second he witnessed the sight of the other getting trapped, thus having him reach into his belt to take out his sword. With a press of a button, the sword had opened up before he charged right at the witch, who was snickering at the sight, “That does it!” He exclaimed, absolutely angered as the sword was swung right at the witch’s direction.

Aviana’s eyes widened noticing the sword as she jerked back; dodging the first swing before Alfred had gone for another swing at her. This was amusing to her, which she had held her own hands at him to send a spell attack at him. 

With him being trained in combat, Alfred had held the sword and used it to slice right through the attack; dodging it easily. Natalya couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She knew Alfred was good at handling a sword and shield, but she never knew that his equipment went as far as stopping attacks from magic.

Him slicing through the attack though didn’t stop from Gelinda flanking right behind him and glaring down at the man. Her hands were glowing with power, which had Natalya cry out as she struggled more in the trap.

“Alfred!” She cried out; glaring right at Gelinda out of anger. If that woman dares hurt Alfred, she wouldn’t know what to do, “Behind you!”

The callout had Alfred turn himself around immediately to be greeted to the large smirk that was plastered on Gelinda’s face. Unfortunately, the callout was a bit too late as all it took for the witch was for her to snap her fingers. That one snap resulted in ice beginning to form around Alfred’s feet; gluing him to the ground.

“You ‘heroes’ always think you’re so brave,” A small eye-roll came from Gelinda before she laughed noticing the panic on Alfred’s face, “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of your little girlfriend. Maybe I’ll even let you come to her funeral.”

“Gelinda-!” Alfred was grinding down on his teeth in anger at hearing those words. The ice that kept his feet in place began to grow up his legs, which had him trapped. All he could think of was reaching to his belt and pulling out what looked like a small handgun. He didn’t point it at the witch, because he had noticed something else that may take a hit on her. He pointed the weapon towards the bridge; shooting at it which had sent a powerful blast at it to get it to shatter into large pieces.

The pieces surprisingly had managed to fall all over; hitting the ground with loud thuds. Even Gilbert and Florentyna had shielded themselves from the hits while Natalya’s eyes were shut; bracing to be hit - but she wasn’t.

Aviana and Nebula, however, hadn’t realized what the man had done before two large pieces of the bridge had hit their backs. It was one hit that was enough to knock them unconscious to the ground, leaving Gelinda to be the only witch to notice.

Gelinda held her hand towards the piece that was about to hit her and froze it on the spot. All it took was one squeeze of her hand before her magic had shattered it into multiple pieces; her eyes glaring right at Alfred in anger, “Well, I guess I underestimated you UHB men.”

It was at this point that the ice began reaching up Alfred’s body now. It had stopped at his shoulders; keeping him restrained on the spot to the point where he couldn’t move. The anger was growing more and more as the seconds passed, especially with seeing Natalya trapped in the position that she was in.

He had no idea what to do. Natalya had no idea what was going to happen, especially since now that Alfred was trapped, Gelinda had lowered herself right in front of Natalya with crazed eyes.

_“Witches? I used to wipe the floor with warlocks back on my planet.”_

The new voice had everyone lookup. Even Alfred and Natalya looked up from their trapped positions to feel relief form on their expressions seeing Elizabeta flying in the air. Behind her, five little Pixies were hiding behind her as she held her hands up; magic formed in the palms of her hand.

“Oh?” Gelinda looked over at Natalya with her brows raised, “Who’s the new girl?” She paused for a moment before shrugging and flying into the air; shadows of darkness beginning to surround her body, “Don’t answer that. It doesn’t matter, just more fairy ass for me to beat.”

“Excuse me?” The magic that was in her hand rose to the air as Elizabeta glared down at the witch. She had no idea who she was but based on the expressions Alfred and Natalya were giving, she had a feeling they did, “You think I’m afraid of you? Funny.” 

The magic that was in her hand was soon launched right at Gelinda. However, the witch stared at the attack and held her hand out; a barrier shield formed around her body with the darkness which had the attack shatter into pieces. Elizabeta’s eyes widened seeing this before the witch flew up at her direction, “That’s cute that you think you’re not scared when I swore I just saw all the light in your eyes fade right away the second I stopped your magic.”

Gelinda grabbed onto Elizabeta’s shoulder with a firm grip, resulting in the fairy to panic as she grabbed onto the witch’s wrist. The darkness that surrounded the witch went straight to Elizabeta; piercing straight through her body which had the Pixies immediately scatter off to hide while the fairy took on the attack.

This one attack was enough to launch Elizabeta straight to the ground. Her magical energy was gone at that point due to Gelinda, to the point where her fairy form immediately disappeared and she returned back to her traveler’s attire.

Laughter came from Gelinda at the sight of what she was seeing. Florentyna was injured, Gilbert had been protecting her, the new fairy was unconscious, Alfred was trapped - and the best part, Natalya was trapped all for herself.

And this was something Gelinda had been _waiting_ for those last few months at the World of Peace.

The witch lowered herself down where Natalya glared at her. The glare unphased the witch as she reached over; slowly grasping onto Natalya’s neck with a firm grip, “This was _way_ too easy,” She laughed right in the fairy’s face, the grip getting tighter to where Natalya’s eyes widened in panic, “I can’t believe Shadow Haunt was really that powerful enough to wipe everyone out, including stopping you from using your power-“

A solar gleam flashed directly where Gelinda had been flying midair. The gleam had been powerful enough for her to go silent mid-sentence where she looked around, noticing that there was a light from afar that seemed to be growing more and more. Even Natalya found herself looking up towards the light from her trapped position, before having to shut her eyes from how powerful the beam was.

The beam was grand. It radiated a positive amount of energy that managed to push away any source of darkness that lingered in Shadow Haunt. One by one, members of the party that had journeyed to rescue the Pixies were looking up now where large wings had formed from the light.

The wings weren’t just any wings. They were in the form of an… Angel? No one could tell, but the positive energy that radiated from them all began to make sense when the figure of a man stepped out of the light.

The man, who none of them knew, glared directly at Gelinda as the witch used her arms to shield her eyes from the light.

“What the hell-!?” Gelinda groaned out and lowered herself to the ground, “What is that?! I can’t see anything-!”

The figure stared at the witch only for a moment. He had another priority in mind, which was first to fly down to Natalya where he looked at the girl with a serious expression to his face.

With one hand, the man held a small portion of positive magic over the girl to release her from the restraint that had her in place. Natalya fell straight to the ground where she looked up at the man, who now flew to Alfred and snapped his fingers - the ice surrounding the hero immediately melting.

As each member of the party was free, including the man flying over to Elizabeta and Florentyna to cast a healing spell to give them energy, everyone was shocked.

The man wore armor that covered the majority of his body in protection. On his shoulders, he wore a white cape with matching sleeves and boots that had been outlined in gold. He had a symbol on the cloak her wore drawn out in gold lining - which no one had recognized at all. He was tan, tall, well-built, all while his long blonde hair had been pulled back into a side braid. 

It was when he was done that he flew up into the air; looking down at the three fairies and two men who seemed to be shocked at his presence. 

No one knew who he was, resulting in Florentyna to run over to Natalya, “Who was that!?”

“I have no fucking clue,” Natalya spoke in an honest tone; the shock clearly being there as she had no idea how to react while standing there in place.

The thing was that the man wasn’t done with what he was doing. Instead, he flew directly to where Aviana and Nebula were, who were unconscious; glaring directly at the witches with his hand held out at them.

Gelinda noticed this immediately. She had no idea how to react, but her instincts did kick in as she flew over to where her sister witches were and stood in front of their unconscious bodies to protect them, “Don’t you lay one fucking finger on them, creep!” 

The words didn’t phase him at all. The man simply chuckled at the words before he held his hands up into the air, where a bright orb of magic began to take form. As the orb had been slowly growing in size, the brightness came once more as the fairies and men shielded their eyes.

And soon, the enchantment began.

_“Strega sephoras!”_

With one swing of his hands, the magical energy orb had gone flying in the direction of where Gelinda had been defending Aviana and Nebula. The one powerful blast had been enough to trap all of the witches and launch them to a faraway area that no one knew where it went. All that was for sure was that the witches weren’t there anymore, and there shouldn’t be any concern for confrontation again.

Everyone was shocked. How did someone as powerful as he gets into Shadow Haunt? Let alone, have enough magical energy to rescue them, handle the witches, and still have that energy to fight?  


It seemed to be a question that they were about to have some answers to as the man lowered himself down to particularly where Natalya and Florentyna were standing; giving them a brief bow.

That was the cue for Natalya to speak up, “You saved our lives-“

“Yeah!” Florentyna perked up in agreement with the other’s statement, “What are you?”

As he finished bowing, the man chuckled and looked up to face the two girls, “I’m a Paladin.” He explained, before motioning over to Natalya in particular, “I serve primarily to protect figures of the magical dimension. My powers told me that her highness Princess Natasha was in danger, and thus, I answered the call.”

No one knew who or what a Paladin was in the first place. However, Alfred’s eyes widened at the mentioning of this, because he and Gilbert knew _exactly_ what they were, “…Wait,” He spoke up as he approached Natalya and Florentyna, standing there with his brows furrowed, “You wouldn’t by any chance be Rianlocke? The greatest Paladin of Farlon?” 

“No,” The Paladin chuckled, “But I do know him. A good friend of mine.”

“Then, who are you?” Natalya asked specifically now, unsure of how to feel at the fact that this Paladin in particular was called to Shadow Haunt because of her. 

How did that even work anyway? 

Instead of answering the question, the Paladin smiled at the girl and turned his back to her. He began stepping away, leaving the three with no response other than, “In due time your highness,” He turned his head back, giving one final bow, “All shall be revealed,”

He jumped into the air now, using his wings to begin flying off. Everyone had watched the scene, indeed still shocked by what had happened. One thing for certain though was that when Elizabeta and Gilbert had run over to catch up with the other three, Natalya and Florentyna were staring with their mouths slightly opened in shock.

“He was…” Florentyna brought her hands to her cheeks in admiration, “The meaning of the word handsome… I’ve never seen a Paladin before…!”

“Don’t forget brave…” Natalya’s eyes were still widened. She swore she didn’t mean to stare at the Paladin when he flew off, but there was something about him that she found to be absolutely amazed about.

The fact that the two girls seemed to be dozed off in their own thoughts had Alfred’s brows furrow a bit. Especially at Natalya when noticing her change of behavior all of a sudden when she was staring at the Paladin as he left. To divert their attention, he had approached her and wrapped an arm around her casually - this being enough to snap her out of it, “Well, I’m pretty handsome and brave too, you know.”

“I know that,” Natalya looked at him and reached over to pat his cheek gently before letting out a small sigh, “And you’re my hero. I never knew Paladins existed in the first place—“

_“—Uh, guys?”_

The couple’s conversation had been interrupted to Florentyna’s eyes being widened. Looking at where she was staring, that was when they had seen it.

Shadows. Tiny shadows beginning to fly right at their direction, to where Florentyna had gasped and began running to hide, “Quick, monsters! We need to hide!”

Hiding was the only thing they could really do now that the bridge was gone. And so, Natalya, Alfred and Gilbert had followed just behind Florentyna where they were all hidden behind a pillar. While the healing spell that was cast on all of them did help with giving energy back, they all, especially the fairies, didn’t want to use up the last of their magic since they still had a journey to take back.

However, that was when they noticed something.

Elizabeta stared at them as if they were all crazy when hiding behind the pillar. Even Gilbert had peeked from behind the pillar and called out, “Yo, Elizabeta! What the hell are ya doin’!?”

She didn’t say anything. Instead, Elizabeta smirked over at Gilbert as she took a step forward where the shadows were coming from. Everyone was shocked seeing this, but as the shadows came closer, that was when they began to notice it.

“It’s the Pixies!” Elizabeta looked over at Gilbert with a grin, “You should get your eyes checked.”

She wasn’t wrong. Five little Pixies, who had been hiding when the witches had begun their ambush on the party, had finally come out now that the witches were gone right towards where Elizabeta was standing. One by one, they had all flew right to her and tackled her in loud giggles - which was something she didn’t expect at all due to the impact of it having her fall right onto her back.

Florentyna, Natalya, Alfred, and Gilbert now stepped out from behind the pillar to be greeted to the sight of Elizabeta on the ground, right on her back where five Pixies were giggling and sitting on either her chest, her stomach, her forehead or even her head.

“And you should get your feet checked if you fall like that easily,” Gilbert commented in response; a grin of his own on his lips.

This didn’t phase Elizabeta at all. Instead, she rolled her eyes and slowly pushed herself up from the ground so she wasn’t laying down and was sitting, “Haha, very funny,” She began before looking down at the pixies who seemed to be hugging her tight, “Alright alright, give all the hugs you want, but at least be polite and say hello to the back-up I talked about.” She pointed each person out, “That’s Florentyna, Alfred, Natalya, and don’t ever use this word, asshole.”

“Asshole?” Gilbert gasped and clutched onto his chest, all while Natalya burst out laughing and covered her mouth quickly because she couldn’t help herself, “How dare-“

The pixies looked up from where they were all resting on Elizabeta to look up at the four other individuals. However, two Pixies in particular had been staring right at Florentyna and Natalya for a moment.

Rani, who had been resting on Elizabeta’s head immediately flew into the air and directly into Florentyna’s face. There was a moment of silence exchanged between the two while all Florentyna could do was stare - absolutely lost, in a good way.

The way they exchanged contact, it was as if a connection was being made then and there. Florentyna was absolutely still as she felt like she was on cloud nine. Her heart was bursting in love the second she had laid eyes on the Pixie that Rani had been the one to speak out, “Ooh!” She flew more towards Florentyna’s face, “You’re SO beautiful!”

“A-And you’re so… Adorable!” Florentyna gasped and clasped her hands together. It was as if she had heart eyes right on the Pixie, clearly lost in thought while the connection proceeded.

“What the heck?” Alfred watched the scene with his brows risen; trying to hold back his laughter. Out of the many years he had known her, seeing that they were friends as children growing up, he was shocked to hear what was coming out of her mouth, “Florentyna, actually complimenting someone? I’ve known her for almost twenty years now and she’s returning a _compliment_?”

The question was easy to answer. Elizabeta chuckled at the sight because she knew exactly what was going on. She slowly pushed herself up from the ground and looked at Alfred, “Well, you see,” She began, “For centuries, it’s been common for fairies to find a destined Pixie bond, which is usually at first sight. It’s something we can’t control - it’s out of pure instincts as fairies through our powers. They’re like soulmates. All it takes is for that eye contact and bam, your powers take over you instead of your true soul.”

“I-I’m Rani!” The Pixie realized what she was doing and smiled brightly at the fairy, “Pixie of Gossip!”

“And I’m Florentyna,” Florentyna smiled hearing this and held out a finger to gently shake the Pixie’s hand, “Fairy of the Sun and Princess of Solis. A pleasure to meet you, Rani.”

“That’s…crazy.” Alfred couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He even had nudged Natalya in the side just a bit before he chuckled, “You should record this and show it to everyone when we get back, babe—“ He started off, though noticed that the other wasn’t moving at all, “…Honey?”

That was when he noticed it. The same thing that Florentyna had been going through was happening right with Natalya then and there.

Instead of standing, Natalya was kneeling slightly where she had been staring right at a Pixie that was sitting on top of Elizabeta’s head. This Pixie, who was once distracted, was now staring back at Natalya and flew off from Elizabeta’s head to fly directly to the fairy’s face.

The eye contact was there. It was a long one that Alfred couldn’t help but to see his jaw drop the second he realized what was going on. Elizabeta had nodded to confirm what she had said before.

It was a moment of a bond. A soulmate connection between a fairy and Pixie being born there and then.

Natalya had no idea what was going on. All at first happened was that she was examining the Pixies that had tackled Elizabeta, until one, in particular, had managed to catch her eye. She had no control over herself as she knelt there; remaining absolutely still when the Pixie flew straight up to her with a large smile on her face.

That large smile being paired with what looked like hearts in her eyes the second she had laid eyes on Natalya.

“You’re so beautiful!” The Pixies spoke out to Natalya as the fairy slowly held her hands out. It was there that the Pixie landed on the palm of Natalya’s hand to look up at her; her hands brought up to her cheeks as she admired her, “You’ve got a lot of hidden passages in your heart, but a burning flame that shows a lot of love for people! I’m Homura, the Pixie of Portals.”

“…Wow…” Natalya couldn’t help but speak under her breath, unsure of how to react at all. Instead, she sat herself down on the ground, staring right at the Pixie. There was something about the little magical being that her heart just - suddenly filled with positive energy. And that was a rarity for her - because usually she never fell in love with things as quick as this, “…You’re so…cute… oh my god.” She took in a breath, “…my name is Natalya. It’s… nice to meet you, Homura. I’m the fairy of the dragon flame and heart of ice.”

It was a sight that Alfred never thought that he’d see from Natalya. It was like love at first sight, which he understood it was a fairy bonding thing from instincts. Alas, he shook his head and let the other have her moment.

“Lizzy,” One of the Pixies who had been sitting on her chest, this one being Lara, was holding out her hands as what looked like a miniature screen appeared in front of her, “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to tell you earlier that you shouldn’t have been able to break that barrier.”

“…I know,” Elizabeta wouldn’t deny it. There was something in the back of her mind with getting the barrier broken open that she couldn’t figure out. It was tough, yes, but how did three hits be enough to break it open? The Dark Lord’s magic was powerful compared to a fairy’s magic - it was practically impossible to beat, “Something’s not right to me. First the barrier, then that Paladin appearing out of nowhere…”

“I don’t mean to be the one to burst the bubble here,” Gilbert spoke up, interrupting the conversation as Elizabeta glared right up at him in annoyance. He held up his hands innocently, showing that he meant no harm, “But we should start planning to head out. This is still a dangerous area and now that we’ve accomplished our mission, we need to report to the Headmistress and Headmaster that we’re not dead.”

“Gilbert’s right.” Alfred nodded in agreement, to where he held out a hand for Natalya to take once she was finished having her moment with Homura. The fairy noticed this and took the hand, standing upright away while Homura sat in her palm with hearts still in her eyes, “We’re lucky that Paladin showed up, but we can discuss all that happened on the way back to the aircraft.”

Even with the proposal of leaving, it didn’t neglect the thoughts that ran through Elizabeta’s mind. How come she _was_ able to break the barrier? And the fact that there were no shadow monsters coming after them for helping the Pixies escape? 

As they began to walk back, the question lingered in her mind…

…What _was_ the Dark Lord up to?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello hello! Hope you all have had a good week!
> 
> Welcome to Chapter 3! This was a VERY long one to write out, but I'm happy to have completed it! 
> 
> This is the chapter where interesting events take place. Fighting, getting to know Elizabeta a bit more, as well as having some familiar faces welcome themselves into the picture again.
> 
> Chapter 4 is scheduled to release on 08/15/2020! (edit: now posted on 08/13/2020, two days earlier, so please go enjoy!) For my AmeBel fans... This is a chapter you do not want to miss if you enjoyed the chapters in part one. ;) 
> 
> Until then, see you soon!
> 
> Thank you so much for following the story so far! C: <3


	5. The Dark Tower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Gilbert’s right.” Alfred nodded in agreement, to where he held out a hand for Natalya to take once she was finished having her moment with Homura. The fairy noticed this and took the hand, standing upright away while Homura sat in her palm with hearts still in her eyes, “We’re lucky that Paladin showed up, but we can discuss all that happened on the way back to the aircraft.”
> 
> Even with the proposal of leaving, it didn’t neglect the thoughts that ran through Elizabeta’s mind. How come she was able to break the barrier? And the fact that there were no shadow monsters coming after them for helping the Pixies escape?
> 
> As they began to walk back, the question lingered in her mind…
> 
> …What was the Dark Lord up to?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 18+ CONTENT AHEAD!
> 
> Please be aware that there is smut in this chapter. 
> 
> Continue with discretion! <3 
> 
> (Enjoy my AmeBel fans :3)

_“The door to all our dreams, the one I’ve been searching for throughout time. A new gateway that's in view, the connection found between me and you.”_

Mei’s fingers moved along the keyboard that was placed in front of her. Sitting in her room, she paused for a few moments before reaching forward where she had sheet music written down with notes. With a few scribbles, she had written down a few notes in addition to the lyrics she had come up with, before placing the pencil down.

She looked down at the piano for a moment in thought. After pressing her fingers along the keys once more, she found a rhythm that she liked before clearing her throat and singing aloud, _“Yes, please believe in what you can do, believe in what we all can do. Tomorrow’s near, so we prepare to go and live without fear.”_

It was a beautiful day on Lenfia’s campus. Since the departure of Natalya, Florentyna, and Elizabeta - those who had been selected to stay on campus had taken their time waiting for their return. Them leaving for their mission at first was difficult to accept, but at the end of the day, the Headmistress had managed to convince Mei, Monika, and Tatyana that they could support their friends by being patient and sending vibes of positive magic at their direction.

And to look forward to meeting Pixies for the first time.

_“Yes! Many stars with profound hope are falling down upon our hearts. You’ll shine, my friend... When you are lost, just stand, I promise to be there,”_ She continued to sing along to the notes that she had written on her sheet. On occasion, Mei would pause and write something else down on her sheet music before returning with her playing, _“When my dreary self tired, I knew you would guide me home; your kind smile raised me up higher.”_

Outside of her room, Tatyana had her back pressed against the door. Her eyes were closed as she took in the beautiful music that was being sung aloud by Mei. For being the fairy of music, while she was able to hear the melodies of all human souls, she still had an amazing talent with a beautiful voice to occupancy it. 

Usually, she worked on writing music when they had free time. For example, it is a Sunday today, which meant they didn’t have classes. Which meant they were all left in the suite simply waiting for everyone to return from the mission.

_“And so now, I'll keep growing as I am going about.”_ Mei had slowed down with playing the piano, managing to find a stopping point as she played the last few notes, _“The key to excitement is right where we all are standing now.”_

She slowly rose her fingers away from the keyboard to write a few more things down on her sheet music. The song was perfect. Something that had meaning, and one that she planned to use for the future if she ever had the chance to perform.

In front of her, CeCe had been sitting on a pillow eating a cookie. It was a lot of work to take care of a baby Pixie - she had no idea how Elizabeta did it. The fact of the matter was that since she, Tatyana, and Monika were all in charge of watching CeCe until Elizabeta’s return, they would do it in shifts.

It was her shift now. All she had to do was ask CeCe if the Pixie wanted to help her write some music, which the Pixie agreed immediately. And thus, led to Mei’s small audience as CeCe clapped with a large smile on her face when the fairy finished singing.

“Again, Mimi!” CeCe had giggled, calling Mei by the nickname she had chosen for her since she was still learning how to talk, “Again!”

“Aw, you’re so cute.” Mei couldn’t help but chuckle as she reached over to gently pat the Pixie’s head. Alas, she knew she couldn’t as she pulled back the covers of the piano, “Unfortunately I have homework to do. But after I finish, I’d be happy to sing you a lullaby before your nap. Deal?”

A nod was given by the Pixie, “Okie!”

Tatyana, who was still outside of the room, chuckled softly hearing the conversation. She knew that she shouldn’t eavesdrop, but she was originally there to listen to Mei sing. She stepped away and walked towards the living room of the suite, where Monika had been occupied with a computer in front of her, doing some assignments herself.

“Still doing homework?” Tatyana had spoken up as she took a seat in front of the other, giving a small smile to announce her presence.

Monika looked up from her place where she had been wearing a pair of reading glasses, as well as had a hair clip pulling back her bangs from her face. She had been wearing pajamas, which was a sign that she planned on staying in while doing her work, “Mhm,” She responded and placed her laptop down, “I may take a bit of a break though. I’ve been staring at a screen all day for this lab and I feel like I’m not learning anything if I’m not making actual potions.”

“Why don’t we take a walk to the dining hall, then?” Tatyana suggested and crossed a leg over the other, “It’s a beautiful day out. I’m sure some fresh air would do us both good.” 

It was an offer that Monika wasn’t opposed to at all. As she heard this, she stood up from her seat and approached one of the windows of the living room to open up so they could get some fresh air inside the suite, “I’m not opposed to that,” She answered, “Let me get myself dressed so I don’t look like I’ve been hiding in my room for weeks, and we can head out.”

Opening the window and feeling the breeze come from outside was a nice feeling to Monika. However, as she was turning around, she hadn’t noticed there had been something flying outside.

It wasn’t any ordinary object. Loud giggling came from the creature as it had been flying directly onto Lenfia’s campus, specifically to reach that one suite. It was when Monika had returned back to the windows to open up another one, that what looked like a letter shot flying from right outside.

“What the hell?!” Monika began, clearly startled as the giggling now filled the room.

It was too quick for her to pick up what it was. However for Tatyana, who had been still sitting stood up to look over at Monika…

…only to be greeted to something landing itself right against her chest.

“…Huh?” Tatyana stared for a moment in confusion as she looked down. It was… A small magical being with wings? She picked it up by its back; tilting her head before it all clicked. The little creature had short blonde hair, bright green eyes, and barrettes in the shape of stars pulling her hair back. She had been wearing a white dress, as well as lace gloves to match the attire with a pair of small blue wings on its back, “Oh! Monika, it’s a Pixie!”

“What?” Monika turned to the other and walked over after opening the window. Kneeling herself down, she examined the Pixie who seemed to be dizzy after flying through the window and taking a direct hit against Tatyana’s chest, “Well well well. Why did a Pixie come flying through our window and decide to land on your tits?”

_“So they weren’t pillows!”_

“Oh look,” Monika rose a brow, “It talks.”

“Yes, I do talk!” The Pixie huffed and looked up at Tatyana that had been holding onto her, “Please let me go!”

Tatyana gasped when hearing this. She nodded quickly and immediately let go of the Pixie, who had now used its wings to fly in the air, “I’m so sorry dear. Are you okay?”

Now that she was free, the Pixie looked at Tatyana, then at Monika before nodding, “Yup! Never been better!” She explained with a large smile to her face, “But you two aren’t the fairies I’m looking for! I know she lives in this room, though!”

Confusion formed on both the fairies' faces. Monika perked up and leaned forward, making eye contact with the magical being, “Oh? And who are you looking for?”

“Uhhmmm…” The Pixie paused for a moment before holding out her hands. There, a letter had formed in the palms of her hands before she looked at who it was made out to, “ _Princess Natasha Braginskaya and Headmistress Radella of Lenfia College.”_ She read aloud and looked up at the two fairies, “Mind pointin’ where I could find them? This is from the ministry of Magix!”

“Natalya and Radella!?” Both Monika and Tatyana had said in unison, clearly shocked to hear such a thing. 

That was something that they weren’t expecting to hear, and so, Tatyana had sat right back down and motioned the Pixie to take a seat, “Well,” She spoke up, “It’s going to be a while, The Headmistress leaves campus every Sunday to attend a conference, as for the Princess…”

“Natalya’s on a mission right now rescuing some pixies from your village,” Monika responded and sat down as well while the Pixie flew to where Tatyana had motioned to, “So it’s going to be a while until they’re both here… Speaking of, who _are_ you?”

Hearing these words had the pixie pout. Now that she knew that her message couldn’t be delivered until later on, that meant that she would have to wait until the recipients were there. Alas, when hearing the question, the Pixie looked up at Monika, “Oh, I’m Amare. Pixie of all messages,” She explained with a sigh, “I guess that explains why when I returned home, no one was there.”

“Yeah,” There was a small nod given by Tatyana, “Everyone who was hiding from your village came to take refugee here at Lenfia. Now we’re just waiting for the last ones from Shadow Haunt to return,” She paused a moment, “You deliver messages?”

“That also makes sense,” Amare sat up and stretched her legs before sitting criss-cross on her spot; looking up at the two fairies, “Mhm! I usually deliver a lot of messages for the Headmaster at UHB. Today’s letter though was from the ministry of Magix. All I know is that it’s something about… Protecting the door to the… uh, Realm of Relix’s codex, but I dunno what that means. So I guess I have to wait until either the Princess or Headmistress Radella is here.”

The statement left the two fairies confused once more. It made them wonder if Natalya knew anything about such a thing? They certainly didn’t, but if it was the ministry of Magix - aka, the group taking care of the magical dimension until a plan was decided on what Natalya would do seeing that she didn’t have her family there - it was an important message that had to get delivered.

The fortunate part for Amare was that the group from Shadow Haunt had successfully managed to travel back to the aircraft where Mathias had been waiting outside of the cave of Shadow Haunt. It was a bit of a few hour journey seeing that they had to be careful now that they had the Pixies, but it was a good opportunity for the group to get to know the Pixies that Elizabeta had been very close to.

Most of the conversation was taken place in the aircraft after everyone had arrived and was seated. Mathias was once again the pilot with Gilbert as co-captain, all while the remaining three fairies and Alfred had been seated with their safety belts on. 

It also allowed for them to establish contact as well with Lenfia to let someone who was there to know that they would be making an arrival soon. It would be within the next hour and a half, which gave everyone the time to check their phones and see if they had missed anything.

Florentyna of course had been humming to herself as she had been reading one of the most popular magazines for all fairies their age. Rani, who was now fully comfortable with the fairy, was resting on Florentyna’s head while the fairy read, “Ooh, this week’s question for all fairies is thoughts on marriage while serving as a guardian fairy,” 

The question had Elizabeta and Natalya perk up. When it came to those sorts of questionnaires, it was always very entertaining and interesting to do with friends. The heroes on the other hand had no idea what they were talking about. Gilbert and Mathias had focused on taking care of the craft, while Alfred was there stuck, unsure of how to participate in such a talk.

“I don’t plan on getting married until I’m thirty,” Natalya said simply with no hesitation whatsoever. The reality was that it was her dream to get married… The one thing on her bucket list that she would never admit to her friends or even Alfred unless they figured it out. For now, to ease suspicion, she marked her words then and there, “It’d be a dream come true for me, but I’m not rushing that. Costs money and back home on Earth, I make minimum wage with my allowance.”

“That’s way too old,” Florentyna gasped when she heard this and looked over at Natalya with a pout, “That’s why you start saving up. If it’s something you truly want, then I’m sure you can make it come true.”

“I’m going to have to side with Natalya on this one,” Elizabeta agreed as she sat back in her seat. Her phone was put away while she crossed her arms; closing her eyes and thinking for a moment in thought, “I don’t see why people need marriage. I’m not getting married.”

“You two are boring as fuck,” Florentyna said simply, resulting in Natalya to snicker a bit while Elizabeta rose a brow with amusing. Seeing that Alfred was there purposely ignoring the conversation because he believed he didn’t have any say in it, Florentyna’s eyes lightened with an idea. She reached over and grabbed onto his chair; forcing him to turn around as the man who seemed to be holding onto a handheld game was startled, “What about you, Alfred? You plan on getting married?”

Being put on the spot was something he definitely wasn’t prepared to face. Alfred paused for a moment and looked down at his game to place down on his lap. It was a really unexpected question, and the fact that Elizabeta and Natalya - _especially_ Natalya - was staring at him to hear his answer, he didn’t want to mess up, “I don’t know—”

“You don’t know?” Natalya smirked and leaned forward; placing her chin in her hands as she rested them there. Homura had been sitting right on the fairy’s shoulder, giggling innocently at the sight of it, “I always thought royalty had to get married - like, a requirement.”

“Well, you’re not wrong about that, honey,” Alfred chuckled nervously and rubbed his neck slightly. The thought of marriage actually made him truly happy and excited. But there was a part of him too that he didn’t want to, say, scare Natalya at the question of it, “In my Kingdom, it’s sort of a requirement that a year after I become King, I sort-of have to start thinking about that…” 

Silence came for a moment when this was said. Mainly from Natalya, because she knew specifically why he had said that. 

He told her back when they were first dating that he was scheduled to take the crown of his Kingdom after he graduated from UHB. He was a third-year and about to graduate in the Spring… Which meant within the next year, he was to be a King.

The thing was that she had no idea when he’d be crowned King. He told her it was after he graduated, but if he became King and had to be married within a year…

“I’m going to get myself water.” Natalya immediately stood up with her eyes widened. Her cheeks were beginning to burn a bit red from blushing, mainly at the thought of what she was having as she lowered Homura from her shoulder to sit in her seat. Quickly, she ran to the back of the aircraft to grab water, all while Alfred watched this with a small smirk to his lips.

It was a deep question, yes. But seeing that blushing response from Natalya? It made Alfred wonder what was running through her head.

“ _Well-“_ Florentyna cleared her throat. She also had been grinning, mainly at the fact that she knew deep down how Natalya felt about marriage. She denied it now and claimed getting married at thirty was the route to go, but there was a deeper truth behind it, “I’d _love_ to get married, but I want to find that special someone first. Someone who’s patient with me _and_ has the tolerance for handling my needs… and will let me choose who designs my wedding dress because I’ve already chosen one of the best designers of Solis to do it.”

A special someone… The thought just ran through Natalya’s head as she poured herself the cup of water. She could only wonder what Alfred was thinking, but for now, it was way too soon. Too rushed - and too sudden of a question that she didn’t want to think about it.

And she knew Alfred was the same way based on his behavior. They were both happy where they were in their relationship, nothing more needed to be added or done.

“Don’t mean to interrupt your conversation,” Mathias had called out from the pilot’s chair, “But we’re about twenty minutes outside of Lenfia. So I’d advise in the next five minutes you guys take your seats. Or don’t break your bones.”

It was a sarcastic comment being made, but eventually, after Natalya had gotten her water, she returned to her seat.

The trip was quick. Being outside of Shadow Haunt and away from the negative energy that radiated from that place, it was good to be outside where positive energy flowed around. There was no need to worry about shadow monsters and they could hopefully return to their scheduled lives as students. 

Their arrival to campus was made towards later in the afternoon. The sight of an aircraft landing outside of Lenfia’s gates managed to catch the attention of students who were outside enjoying the beautiful day, though no one questioned it upon noticing that it was an aircraft from UHB. 

However, for Tatyana and Monika who had been just stepping out of the dining hall with a to-go meal with Amare, they noticed it right away. The two fairies exchanged brief looks at each other.

“Is that them?” Tatyana couldn’t help but ask.

Monika shrugged and walked forward, “Let’s go check it out. It probably is,”

The two rushed over to the gates of the entrance where they were greeted to the aircraft slowly beginning to lower itself down. Amare, who was still lost, looked up at the aircraft while hiding behind Tatyana out of fear since she had no idea what it was.

The process of lowering down the aircraft took about a minute or so. Once it had touched down onto the ground, the doors of it began to open to reveal the individuals who were once inside is beginning to step out. 

“It is them-!” Monika gasped and rushed over now to where she had seen Natalya and Florentyna stepping out first, followed by Elizabeta and the heroes that were on board.

“Oh my gosh, I totally wasn’t expecting a welcome thingy here!” Florentyna gasped as she smiled brightly seeing the two, immediately rushing over to Monika to exchange a tight hug before pulling back, “What are you guys doing here!?  


“We were getting dinner,” Tatyana explained with a small chuckle to her voice, “We saw the aircraft and figured we’d check it out to see if it was you guys,” 

Hearing the other, Florentyna’s approached Tatyana to exchange another tight hug as Natalya was hugging Monika, “You have no idea how much I missed you guys!” Florentyna exclaimed, “And how good it is to be in positive magical energy again. Seriously, I never want to be in Shadow Haunt ever again!”

“She has a fair point,” Natalya couldn’t help but to agree, since even she didn’t like being there, “Highly do not recommend. This is the last mission I’ll ever take there.”

While the two fairies were in the middle of their conversation with the others, Elizabeta had stepped out with five Pixies flying all around her, “Hey guys,” She spoke out to Tatyana and Monika with a wave before soon noticing something. Behind Tatyana, another little pixie had been flying right behind her. The blonde hair and those barrettes…

…and it clicked.

“Amare?” Elizabeta spoke out, “Is that you?”

The Pixie who was once shy peeked out from behind Tatyana. It took a moment for Amare to process who was in front of her, before gasping and flying right towards Elizabeta, “Ohmygosh Lizzy!!! You’re okay-!” She cried out before noticing the rest of the pixies around her. Within seconds, Amare burst into tears of relief, “OHMYGOSH everyone is here too!! I’m so relieved everyone is okay!-“

Amare flew directly into Elizabeta’s chest, crying loudly as the woman smiled and gently rubbed her back with her finger, “I’m glad to see that you’re okay, Amare,” She explained before looking over at Monika and Tatyana who were chuckling at the sight. Soon, she motioned to the rest of the pixies, “Oh, these are the Pixies.”

The Pixies who were flying around Elizabeta immediately flew towards the direction of Monika and Tatyana to introduce themselves; chattering amongst themselves until two Pixies, in particular, had paused.

And so did Monika and Tatyana who was about to speak.

But instead, both the fairies were locked in direct eye contact with the two Pixies who were frozen.

Lara, whose brown hair was in a braid and had been wearing a pair of headphones, as well as a dark blue dress, stared right at Monika. A large smile was plastered on her face as she flew directly in front of Monika’s face with hearts formed into her eyes, “Oh my, I radiate a lot of positive energy from you!” She had gasped, “You’re a fairy? You look so Professional and strong! I’m Lara, Pixie of Intelligence!”

“…oh my god.” Monika’s jaw was dropped as she couldn’t stop staring at the Pixie. It was as if her heart was practically bursting in love as she held out her hands; Lara landing on her palms as she brought her close, “You are…so adorable, I… I just-“ She was speechless, “…My name’s Monika… Fairy of Technology.”

The heroes who were standing outside the entrance of the aircraft were all amused at the sight of this. Alfred shook his head and muttered to himself, “Here we go again,” after knowing exactly what was taking place after witnessing the scene with Natalya and Florentyna.

Gilbert on the other hand had the largest smirk on his face as he reached for his phone that was on his belt. All he had done was go to his camera option and point it right at Monika; his smirk growing more and more while Alfred and Mathias stared at him in confusion, “What?” He began, “This is for future blackmail.”

“Ah,” Mathias crossed his arms while resting his back against the side of the aircraft, “Just sibling things.”

“Can’t relate. Don’t have a younger sister,” Alfred agreed mutually. He had a twin brother, and on occasion would tease him, but never try to use momentous scenes such as that one as a form of blackmail.

Just as with Monika, the same thing had been taking place with Tatyana. 

Tatyana stood there with her bag of food placed on the ground as she cupped her cheeks; her eyes full of love the second she had laid eyes on the pixie that was beside Lara. 

Meri, who was wearing a beautiful white gown with her hair down flew right at Tatyana’s direction with a large smile to her face, “My my, you radiate a lot of love! I adore that, especially since you seem like a fairy with so much love to share in your heart!” She giggled, “I’m Meri, Pixie of Love!”

If this was what falling in love was like, Tatyana was in bliss. She held out a finger towards the pixie to gently shake her head; not sure of what to say or react other than let out what sounded like a happy laugh, “My name’s Tatyana… Fairy of all nature.”

“So that’s why you have such a big heart!” Meri giggled and began flying around her, curious to know more details about her.

From Natalya and Florentyna’s point of view, it was interesting to see the sight of a fairy and pixie bond taking place. Especially since they had no idea that was what it looked like for them when they were experiencing their bonds. 

Alas, this didn’t stop Natalya from speaking up, “We should head inside. I could go for a drink after that mission.”

“Ooh, ooh!” Homura had flown right to Natalya’s face, “I want to see your room, Natalya! Can I, pretty please?” 

Hearing Homura speak out had Amare gasp from Elizabeta’s chest as she finished up her brief crying session of relief. She shot a look straight where Homura had been speaking to, looking at the blonde who stood there, “…Natalya?” 

“I don’t see why not,” Natalya held out her hand for Homura to sit down on. There was something about having a bonded pixie that she was absolutely in love with her - she couldn’t help herself, “If you don’t mind there being some laundry set out that I forgot to put away—“

As Natalya spoke to the pixie, Amare flew straight from Elizabeta to the blonde with her eyes widened. This caught the fairy off guard, but she looked at the blonde pixie with her brows risen. The confusion on her face didn’t stop Amare from flying straight to her face to look into her eyes, “Are you Princess Natasha?”

The question was caught off guard by Natalya as she stood there in place. Tatyana and Monika immediately looked up at the Pixie when this was asked, knowing exactly what it meant.

“In… technical terms, yes,” Natalya answered the question since she wasn’t going to deny it, “But I go by Natalya. Why? What’s wrong?” 

Another loud gasp came from Amare when hearing the confirmation. With her hands held out, a bright orb of magic formed in front of the pixie which had Natalya take a step back while Homura remained in the palm of her hand. Within seconds, a golden envelope had formed with a red wax sealing on it that was addressed to her.

“I have a letter for you, your highness!” Amare held the letter to the fairy, “This is for you and Headmistress Radella from the ministry of Magix!”

“…Ministry of Magix?” Natalya paused for a moment before taking the letter. 

Why would they want to send her a letter? The last time she had heard from them was when they were handling Gelinda, Aviana, and Nebula. What other cases could there be?

Instead of opening it though, she looked at the letter to inspect it. It looked official, but if it was being made out to her _and_ Radella, she’d rather not open it without her, “Uh, thanks,” Natalya placed the letter into her bag, “I’ll read it once Radella is back on campus. It’s Sunday, so I know she’s not going to be here until tomorrow… I’m sorry,” She paused, “What’s your name?”

“Oh, pardon me!” The pixie giggled and gave a quick bow to the other, “My name’s Amare, your highness! Pixie of all messages!”

That would make sense. A small nod of understanding was given by Natalya before she held out her finger to shake the pixie’s hand, “Well, it’s nice to meet you. Thank you for bringing it.”

The decision to head inside was made with the heroes being welcomed to join for some dinner after a day of traveling. Being back in their suite was very relaxing for the three fairies who had taken on the mission, with having the chance to shower, change clothes, and even get a proper meal all while having a chance to get to know their new bonded pixies.

Even Mei, who had been in her room doing her homework before their arrival, was greeted to experiencing the same exact bonding that the other four had experienced. This time, being with the last pixie that had been hiding behind Elizabeta a majority of the time. 

This pixie was very polite with Mei, introducing herself as Ella, the pixie of all manners. Mei was shocked to have made this established connection with the pixie, but by the end of the day, each fairy in the suite had taken their time after getting a meal in getting to know their new bonded pixies.

It was something that Elizabeta was very familiar with. After all, when she had first bonded with CeCe, she couldn’t stop thinking about her for the first few hours.

Even if her mind was on the pixies, Natalya did keep in mind the importance of the letter. She hadn’t opened it, but the first thing that was planned for the following day was to bring it to Radella’s attention. She didn’t know when seeing that it was Monday the following day, but she hoped that it could be before or after her classes.

The men from UHB eventually made their departure towards the later evening. Despite enjoying to hang out with the fairies, they still had priorities with their Headmaster. One of those priorities entailing that they check in with him to confirm that the mission was successful before they were to return to their training the next day.

And so, the evening passed uneventfully. It was relaxing, a time for friends to catch up and hear about the mission, as well as an opportunity for rest before the following day did arrive.

The arrival of the next day was indeed very quick. Everyone had been used to their routines for the fall semester, which meant by 9 AM, everyone in the suite had been awake. The only exception had been Elizabeta, who was welcomed to stay in the suite with the girls.

The fortunate thing was that she wasn’t injured compared to the first time she had returned from Shadow Haunt. She was physically well, just as Natalya and Florentyna were fine, that the group of fairies welcomed their space to her until she could figure out what she wanted to do.

Which at that point in time, no one knew what was going to happen with Elizabeta. Even she didn’t know what she was going to do, despite having concerning thoughts over the dark creatures of Shadow Haunt perhaps going after her after breaking the Pixies free.

A note was slipped underneath the door of the suite when the fairies were getting ready for their classes. Natalya had been in the kitchen preparing a bowl of porridge for herself that she had brought from Earth, all while Tatyana had been drinking tea at the table and Mei was eating a piece of toast.

Florentyna was dozing off on the couch. She was all ready and dressed for classes, but she was way too exhausted from the return of the mission to even consider classes. But Natalya wouldn’t let her get out of it that easily.

The note slipping though managed to catch Mei’s attention from her spot on the couch. In her mouth, she had her piece of toast and took a bite out of it before standing up and making her way over, “Mmf?” She swallowed the contents that were in her mouth before picking up the note. 

It was a small note, nothing too fancy. It was folded up, which by looking at the top right corner of it, she could immediately see that it was addressed to three individuals in the suite.

And the closest of the three was Florentyna, who was dozing off on the couch.

“Hey Florentyna,” Mei spoke out, resulting in the blonde to startle herself in her sleep with a gasp. She looked up at the other who was chuckling in response before the note was placed onto her lap, “That’s for you.”

“…A note?” A yawn managed to escape Florentyna’s lips as she noticed that it was indeed addressed to not only her but Natalya and Elizabeta as well. She blinked for a moment and opened it, briefly taking a moment to read through it.

_Natalya, Florentyna, Elizabeta,_

_Welcome back. I am glad to see that you all managed to successfully complete the mission of rescuing the Pixies._

_Before you classes this morning, I’d like you three to stop by my office._

_Don’t worry about being late. The seminar for this morning will be delayed for the first ten minutes,_

_Thank you,_

_Headmistress Radella_

It took Florentyna a moment or so to process the note that she was reading. It was simple enough for her to get the context of it, but seeing that she was still exhausted, she had gotten up from the couch and walked to the kitchen where Natalya was sitting on the counter with her bowl of porridge, “Hey,” She began, now holding out the note, “Read this.”  


“…Huh?” Natalya quickly swallowed her spoonful of porridge and placed it down beside her. As she sat there on the counter, she crossed a leg over the other before grabbing the note and beginning to read the plain text.

It was a brief note. At least that answered the question of when they had to see the Headmistress, which resulted in her nodding in understanding before climbing down from the counter, “Okay,” Natalya folded the note and placed it into her pocket, “Elizabeta’s still asleep. We should wake her up and plan to leave once she’s ready.”

“I can go wake her up if you’d like,” Tatyana offered, who had still been sitting at the table. She smiled at the two before standing up from her seat, “You’re still eating Natalya, and you need to eat breakfast Florentyna. I’m already done, so it’s no issue.”

With her mug that she had used to drink her tea, Tatyana had placed it in the kitchen of the suite before walking toward the direction of the bedrooms to go wake up Elizabeta. Elizabeta had been sleeping on one of the extra beds left in Monika and Mei’s room, where Monika had been in the process of putting together her bag for the day.

After all, they all had classes. Their first class for that morning was their second-year seminar, which none of them knew what was going to be planned today. 

It took a few minutes, but Tatyana did eventually manage to get Elizabeta up from her sleeping position. The girl was tired, but after explaining that a note was received through the opening underneath their door, Elizabeta forced herself up and got dressed to take on this meeting with Radella. 

Everyone left the suite together as a group half an hour before the seminar was to begin. Since it was scheduled to be a bit late, which was understandable seeing that Radella would be having the meeting with Natalya, Florentyna, and Elizabeta to discuss of what took place during the mission. 

It was mutually agreed that after the meeting, Monika, Mei, and Tatyana would meet up with the rest of the group at the seminar - that way they could get the inside scoop of what exactly was going on.

The girls arrival at the Headmistress’ office was welcomed by Radella as she stood up from her seat and smiled at the presence of the three of them. She was truly relieved to see that Natalya, Florentyna, and Elizabeta were all okay after taking on such an intense mission. She could only imagine how exhausted they were, so the fact that they were all awake and taking on the new day - she admired a lot.

It made her proud to be their Headmistress.

She motioned to three chairs that were set up in front of her desk for the girls to sit. Once they did, she had sat down in her own seat; a smile formed along her lips before she cleared her throat, “Welcome back you three,” She spoke to break the silence, “You all must be very exhausted, but I’m quite impressed that you managed to get yourselves here.”

“It was nothing Miss R,” Florentyna had waved her hand in dismissal, chuckling at the mentioning of it, “Just gotta force some food down our stomachs for a bit of energy, go on a walk and get that energy running.”

A nod of understanding came from Radella, “Very good,” She agreed. She didn’t want to keep them there for too long, since after all, they had a seminar to get to - which was one that she taught every Monday morning to them and the rest of the second-year class, “I wanted to call you three in to discuss of the mission. From the reports I received from Headmaster Elijah, I’m so happy to hear that it managed to be a success with rescuing the pixies.”

“Yes ma’am,” Natalya responded with her arms crossed under her chest as she spoke; sitting up just a bit in her seat, “We watched over the pixies last night to make sure that they were okay, and they all seem to be doing alright. Though I’ve also suggested that we bring them to the infirmary just to get them checked out while we’re in our classes for today.”

That way, at least someone could watch them because if there was one thing Natalya had learned - pixies needed a _lot_ of attention. She was absolutely in love with Homura, but just one day with the pixie, she realized that the bond between a pixie and fairy was… Almost similar to a mother and a child; not wanting to leave the parent alone and always need them for guidance.

“Good, I was hoping you would do that,” Radella followed-up with the other’s statement before clearing her throat, “You see, I’ve actually sent an invitation to the pixie elders’ secret hideout through Amare - I’m sure you’ve all gotten to know her. I’ve asked them to come and join us here at Lenfia, as I’m still very concerned about what’s taken place in their village.”

Hearing the mentioning of Amare had Natalya pause for a moment. The pixie of messages… And then she remembered about the letter she had received the evening before, “Oh, speaking of her…” She reached into her bag where she had been keeping the letter securely. Grabbing onto the envelope, she handed it over to the Headmistress, which caught the older woman off guard, “Amare delivered this letter to me explaining it's from the ministry of Magix… It was addressed to you and me, but I didn’t want to open it without your presence here.”

The letter was something that Radella hadn’t been expecting at all. She was silent for a moment, especially at the mentioning of the ministry of Magix. What would the council need from them? Taking the letter from Natalya, she glanced down at it and noticed that it wasn’t just addressed to her and Natalya - but it was addressed to _Natasha Braginskaya._ If that was the case, they wanted the Princess to know what was going on.

She reached into one of the shelves of her desk to grab a letter opener. Sliding the opener along the seam, she had opened it and placed the cutter down before reaching in to pull out a letter that Natalya had no idea what it said. She adjusted her glasses; reading it for a moment briefly to understand the situation of what was going on.

It was a very detailed letter. A letter full of concern about not only for Natalya’s safety but the mentioning of how there has been a lingering dark presence in the magical dimension that no one could seem to figure out. 

Followed by the concerns, came with the mentioning part of the council being in contact with the pixie elders. Reading the fine print in detail, it had explained how the elders had actually reported to Magix’s authorities of the raid that had taken place in their village. The only details that they were only able to provide was the mentioning of the shadow monsters that had attacked them, as well as the monsters asking consistently about an item they were looking for in the village:

A Codex.

“What’s the letter say, Headmistress?” Natalya asked now, resulting in the older woman to feel her eyes widen in panic.

Radella’s folded the letter up quickly. Immediately, she looked over at Natalya and took in a small sigh, since she couldn’t give the details out about it yet. No, if she was reading correctly what was on the letter - the codex - it was something that the girl had no idea about at all.

And something she didn’t know if she was ready to learn about yet.

“Well, it looks like the pixie elders beat me to speaking with the council, which is why I’m assuming I haven’t heard anything until now,” The Headmistress explained. It was the truth, she wouldn’t deny that part to Natalya at all, as well as for Florentyna and Elizabeta who were listening closely, “However… It… Seems that the council is a bit concerned, They suspect that there is a dark presence lingering in the magical dimension… Which, I suspect from what you’ve told me Elizabeta,” She looked over at the brunette, “It may be that Dark Lord you told us about since your first visit to Shadow Haunt,”

A quick nod was given by Elizabeta as she sat up, “Yes, ma’am,” She immediately agreed with no hesitation, “He’s a demon. A demon that when I saw face to face, I felt all my magic fade away. He’s someone that I never want to stand in front of for as long as I am living,”

“…That further proves the detail of the letter,” Radella looked over at Natalya with a small frown, “The council is worried for your safety. I won’t lie to you Natalya, but hearing these details from Elizabeta then receiving this letter, I am greatly concerned that we may be going up against a creature that doesn’t know you’re alive.”

The mentioning of a dark creature being dangerous around her had Natalya’s eyes widened. At first, she had wanted to ask about the letter, seeing that Radella had quickly put it away after the mentioning of her question…

…yet, now her mind was more distracted at the thought of a dangerous force being after her. For what - for being the last heir of the magical dimension?

“For now though, I think you’re safe because it doesn’t seem this ‘Dark Lord’ realizes you’re here with us, Natalya. And I am very grateful and happy that you are,” Radella further explained before closing her eyes in thought, “But… I believe I have a suspicion as to who this person may be.”

“The Dark Lord?” Florentyna tilted her head in confusion.

“What do you mean, you ‘suspect’, Headmistress?” Elizabeta leaned forward in interest, “As in where he came from? He’s a demon - wouldn’t he come from the Realm of Darkness?”

“Possibly _yes_ , possibly _no_ ,” 

As Radella spoke, she held out her hands where a bright orb of magic had formed in the palms of her hands. The bright orb soon began to grow in size steadily, only to take the shape of a book. She placed the book down, this managing to catch the girl’s attention as on the cover of it, it had the Headmistress’ full name on it.

She flipped open the book to a particular page, this one specifically containing pictures of old documents with her writing beside it in descriptions, “You see ladies,” She explained and motioned to the page; specifically towards the images, “You all know of the destruction of Sparx - one of the biggest disasters and unfortunate events to take place in the magical universe…” She looked up at Natalya with a small frown, “A day I won’t forget… But, as we know, the raids on your planet Natalya, were targeted for the dragon flame and heart of ice by the ancestral witches. However, the only way that the ancestral witches could have their power is through their coven,”

“…Coven?” Florenetyna tilted her head since now she was becoming even more confused, “Sorry Headmistress, I don’t speak witches and warlocks,”

“That’s alright dear,” Radella nodded in understanding. They were fairies - they weren’t supposed to know of these things anyway. And so, she continued with her explanation, “In every coven, there is a lord to be worshiped. Most have specific ones, others have one that is universal. Entering Shadow Haunt, you explained to me that there is a demon in there who goes by the title of the Dark Lord… One who can strip away the powers of positive magical beings, but also is a source of providing dark power to all witches. It’s… Beginning to lead for me to believe that this demon, could be the source of what gave the ancestral witches the powers to launch the raid on Sparx.”

The explanation was a lot of detail for Natalya to take in. Sitting in her chair and looking over at the images of her family’s planet… It broke her heart. The fact that she had no idea where her family was, the fact that she got to have a normal life while her own siblings were probably somewhere in the dimension suffering, her mother being the only source of contact she had, and her father being the only body of the royal family found from the event…

…How was it possible that there was another person tied to the event minus the ancestral witches? First their descendants, now the leader of their coven? What did witches want with the dragon flame and heart of ice in the first place?” 

“There are certain powers in this universe that manage to develop a mind of their own,” Radella sighed softly and flipped to the next page. This page specifically had details laying out about Shadow Haunt, which showed to the girl that this was from her own personal research, “…When I was a member of the Company of Light, this was all my notes that I took when I journeyed there with the group… including your parents, Natalya,” She looked up at the girl once more, “I learned during that travel that in the heart of the under realm, the Kingdom of Shadow Haunt, that place may be made out of rock and stone, but it is alive. It has the powers of the Realm of Darkness lingering in it… That’s why I suspect that this Dark Lord may be the source of what gives the coven of the ancestral witches their powers,” She paused and closed the book, “…Including their descendants, this being Gelinda, Nebula, and Aviana…”

“Oh Headmistress…” Florentyna sighed as she brought a hand up to her forehead, “You are not going to like what I’m about to say then…”

A moment of silence came from Radella hearing this, “What is it, Florentyna?”

“..The witches…” There was a bit of hesitation in Natalya’s tone of voice since she didn’t know how to break the news properly to the other, “They… We saw them in Shadow Haunt. They were broken free, we don’t know how and I—“ As she went on, there seemed to be no change in Radella’s facial expression.

_“…I know.”_

Both Florentyna and Natalya’s jaws dropped hearing this one sentence. 

There were a lot of things that the Headmistress knew of and has come to learn of. Especially during yesterday when she had been at her weekly conference, the news of what happened was brought to her attention, “It was announced to Headmistress Evanora that Gelinda, Aviana, and Nebula all have escaped from the World of Peace,” She said simply, “We don’t know how or why, but that was another thing I wished to talk to you all about… But assuming from your behaviors, I can figure you’ve put the pieces together as well.”

“Yes,” Elizabeta spoke up with her arms crossed over her chest, “I don’t know who these witches are, but they just - attacked us. I fear that they may be working with the Dark Lord,”

“That’s a highly susceptible cause, Elizabeta,” Radella agreed. How else could they have gotten to Shadow Haunt, if what Natalya was saying was true, “Authorities were told that with the help of this figure, they escaped. But if they’re in Shadow Haunt… That’s a whole other situation if they’re there.”

“Situation?” Florentyna frowned.

“It’s dangerous to go to Shadow Haunt,” Radella reminded them all, “If anyone is to go after them, the dark energy that lingers in that realm is so dangerous that the authorities could get killed… That’s why it’s been decided until there’s an open chance they come outside, we’ll be able to handle it,” She looked over at Natalya, “…and don’t worry, we’ll make sure you’re safe too.”

A frustrated look formed on Natalya’s face as she sighed and looked down. She didn’t like that at all. Part of her knew she had to understand that these were the circumstances, and she didn’t want anyone to ever face what she, Florentyna, and Elizabeta had to go through when traveling down to Shadow Haunt. But the fact that the witches were free? 

“What are we supposed to do, then?” She looked over at the Headmistress, “Just sit and wait to see what they do?”

“There is a plan in motion Natalya, don’t worry,” The Headmistress reassured the other, “Right now the plan is to figure out what exactly this Dark Lord is doing with the witches. They could be serving as his accomplices for something, but we don’t know what. Which is why the council is leaving the authorities to investigate it further… But I can guarantee you one thing,” She stood up from her seat, “…If the witches _are_ connected to this Lord, the witches only strive for one thing - and that is total control of the magical universe. Leading to my suspicions that this Lord may have the same motive, but perhaps needed experienced witches to guide him in the correct direction.”

Elizabeta leaned forward a bit in interest to hear more, “I don’t get it though. The pixies said that the Dark Lord kept asking about the location of their village. What does that have to do with _any_ of this?”

That was a question Radella was hoping that she didn’t have to deal with. She looked at Elizabeta, hesitantly turning her head away before pushing up her glasses. She didn’t answer the question, but instead diverted it, “…Right now, what’s important is that we protect the pixies and keep them from falling into the Dark Lord’s hands again. I’m worried that if they go back to their village, the Dark Lord could possibly be planning to watch and follow them to see where they go,” She explained, “You Elizabeta, minus the pixies, are the only other person who knows where the village is… Which is why I’ve thought of something.”

The question being completely avoided had Natalya’s brows furrow in suspicion. Connecting back to all the information that she understood, the Dark Lord was after something in the pixie’s village. However, he couldn’t get to it due to not knowing the exact location of it. He had tried to interrogate the pixies to give the location, but they refused. So instead, he was playing the game of seeing how long it would take for the pixies to travel back to the village on their own.

Elizabeta did have a point though. Why did the Dark Lord _want_ to know where the village was unless there was something there that he wanted? 

And was it something that Headmistress Radella knew, but wouldn’t tell her?

A different envelope was pulled out from Radella’s desk. This time, it had been a pink colored one with a red candle ceiling, as well as a signature from the Headmistress. It was a letter that Natalya nor Elizabeta didn’t know what it was, but it was one that Florentyna was _very_ well familiar with as she gasped in realization.

The envelope was held out to Elizabeta. Elizabeta stared for a moment at the envelope before grabbing it, beginning to open it where inside it had been a brochure, as well as a hand-written letter.

“Elizabeta,” Radella smiled at the fairy before sitting back down in her seat; looking up while she read the letter that was inside it, “I’d like to formally invite you to stay here at Lenfia College as a student. You can choose to decline if you wish, as I understand you’ve been trained back in your Kingdom as a fairy, but I would be happy to have you as an addition to our second-year class. Especially once this whole issue begins to calm itself down with the Dark Lord.”

Elizabeta’s eyes widened when she read the invitation. It was there in clear lettering - a letter of formally welcoming her to Lenfia College if she so chose to. She never imagined herself going to a fairy college… Let alone, all of her studies as a fairy was something she had done at home with instructors that her family specifically had chosen for her to prepare her as a future guardian fairy of her planet.

Yet, after getting to meet Natalya, Florentyna, Monika, Mei, and Tatyana… They all being students, and getting that first-hand experience of seeing what it was like for them as students at the college… Let alone, how powerful Florentyna and Natalya were with having the chance to train there under Radella and take on an intense mission that she wasn’t even ready to do by herself…

…She smiled and looked at the Headmistress, holding out a hand to shake it.

“Thank you, Headmistress Radella,” Elizabeta responded, watching as the older woman took it to give it a brief shake, “I’d be happy to accept… And learn more about what it takes to be a fairy with other people at my level by my side.”

“Wonderful,” The hand was pulled back from Radella as she glanced over at the time. The second-year seminar that she was supposed to be teaching was delayed for a few minutes, but she knew that she shouldn’t be keeping the rest of the class waiting, “With that being said, I’ll formally reach out to your family to let them know how you’re doing and have your class schedule arranged with one of our advisors. For now, you’re welcomed to join the second year seminar that actually, we should be heading to right now.”

“Oh Elizabeta, you’re going to love it here!” Florentyna wrapped an arm around the brunette; motivation and determination on her expression as she looked at the other, “Seriously, when Natalya was a first year, I had to convince her to come here if she wanted to learn more about her magic. And you can say that it paid off,” She turned to face Natalya, “Right?”

“That… I can’t really deny, yeah,” Natalya chuckled softly to herself. It was at this point that the four women in the room began to step out of the office. Now that their meeting was done, it was time to get to that class, “At first I didn’t want to leave Earth because well… I was on a scholarship at the academy I went to, thought it was all a dream… But, I’m really thankful for Florentyna pushing me here…

…Trust me, it’s going to be worth it.”

* * *

Walking down to the seminar class was a very quick process for the three students. Radella had stayed behind for a moment in the main office to grab a few of her materials but did tell them that she would see them there before they had left the office. 

It was the first class that Elizabeta would get to experience as well. While she didn’t have a class schedule quite yet, she would have the opportunity to sit in one of the lectures and have a chance to see what it was like to be in a room full of other fairies compared to how she’s been doing it all her life - which was being taught by teachers all by herself. 

Inside the lecture hall, a majority of the seats were filled. There had to have been at least a hundred students - Elizabeta couldn’t count - but what she did see was that there were some seats opened by Mei, Monika, and Tatyana, who were talking amongst themselves when the other three had arrived.

“How’d your meeting go?” Monika had asked when the others had taken their seats; putting away her laptop where she had been doing some coding for her personal magic usage.

“Good news and bad news,” Florentyna smiled as she crossed a leg over the other to make herself comfortable, “I’ll tell the bad news later. But the good news is that Elizabeta is one of us now! Radella gave her an invite to join the school because she’s absolutely amazing,”

“Really?” Tatyana gasped as she reached over and grasped onto Elizabeta’s hands, giving them a squeeze, “Congratulations! It’s very hard to get into Lenfia, you know. So this is a really big accomplishment to get invited specifically from the Headmistress!”

“Agreed!” Mei nodded in agreement, “First time I applied to Lenfia, I actually got denied. I didn’t get in until my second time because I had to improve a few of my grades, but you’re going to love it here. Plus, we’ve got a spare bed in our suite, so you’re totally welcome to live with us this year.”

“Thanks, guys…” Elizabeta chuckled and looked down, noticing Tatyana’s hands as she gave them a squeeze back, “This is… A bit new for me, because I was always homeschooled.”

The entire time the group had been discussing amongst themselves, Natalya was quiet. While she was very happy that Elizabeta would be joining them as a student, there was something about that meeting with Radella that was still bothering her. Questions weren’t answered, and a part of her had a feeling that Radella knew something that they didn’t.

“Isn’t this great, Natalya?” Florentyna looked over at the other and gave her a small nudge. Though upon noticing that she was looking down, she paused and turned to face her, “Natalya?”

“…Oh, shit, sorry,” Natalya muttered and took in a breath. After shaking her head to get herself into focus, she looked over at Florentyna, then at Elizabeta with a nod, “Yeah… It’s great. As I said, it’s going to be worth it…”

The tone of voice that came from her was monotone. And Natalya always had a monotone voice whenever she wasn’t happy about something. Florentyna stood up for a moment, knowing that she had to take this into her own hands as she approached the other and sat right on her lap.

“Hey, what are you—“

“Tell us what’s wrong, Natty.” Florentyna simply said; making herself comfortable on the other’s lap, “Or else I’m not moving. You’re not going anywhere until you tell us.”

“…Is that your way of keeping her from running off?” Mei couldn’t help but to raise a brow at the sight of this. It was funny, since Florentyna had the weirdest methods to get what she wanted, “I’m not judging, just amused.”

Seeing the behavior that came from Natalya had Elizabeta pause for a moment. She couldn’t be upset about her acceptance to Lenfia, right?… No, that wouldn’t make sense at all. She seemed happier before the meeting, and happy when she got the letter… But was it after the meeting that something happened?

“…Was it from the meeting?” Elizabeta spoke out to the other with a small frown.

Bingo.

Natalya sighed and turned her head away in frustration. How was she supposed to come out with it without it not sounding confusing to the others, “Yes… It’s just,” She looked over at Elizabeta, “When you asked your question about what the Dark Lord wanted with the pixie village, the Headmistress completely ignored your question. What’s bothering me is that she _knows_ something, but won’t tell us—“ Her brows furrowed in frustration, “It’s just like last year when she knew these things about me, but wouldn’t tell me until I figured it out on my own.”

The explanation had Florentyna slowly sit up from the other’s lap, “You know, Nat…” She began, realizing that the other did have a point, “I noticed that too. When you gave her that letter from the Magix’s council, she put it away quickly and pretty much paraphrased the letter to us. She didn’t tell us either about what could be in the village.”

“There’s something in the pixie’s village that the Dark Lord guy who attacked Elizabeta wants?” Mei couldn’t help but ask, wanting to better understand the situation at hand.

“Probably,” Natalya looked at the group with the frown still formed on her lips, “I don’t know, something about it just - pisses me off.” 

“Hearing that brings discomfort in my stomach,” Tatyana admitted with a small whisper, all while she rested the palms of her hands against her knees, “Like mother nature is telling me there’s a reason to not have a good feeling about this at all.”

Tatyana was immediately silenced at the sound of one of the large doors opening of the lecture hall. Every one of the group had gone silent as well before all of the students sitting there had turned to face what the source had been.

The sound of heels clicking against the floor was enough of an indicator for all of the second-year students to notice that it was Radella. But, instead of being in her usual work attire - she had been wearing a robe. 

A magical robe that was usually worn when it was raining outside to protect magical beings.

“Ladies,” Radella cleared her throat upon standing in front of the room. She looked up at all the students, giving a serious expression to all of them which no one was expecting to see at all, “I thank you for your patience during this delay. However, I’d like for you all to step out of the lecture room and retrieve your cloaks. Today’s discussion will be taken place outside at the south shore of the lake by Lenfia. It’s raining outside. I will see you all there.”

That was one announcement that no one had been expecting to hear at all. All students, who were mostly dressed in more fall attire than raining had all begun to exit out of the lecture hall to retrieve their magical cloaks that would protect them from the rain.

“I wonder if it’s an exercise we’re doing?” Mei asked while stepping down from her seat. The group of six began walking together out of the lecture hall; minding their distance since there had been a lot of students eager to get outside, “When did it start raining anyway? It was clear this morning,”

“Yeah, but it was gloomy too,” Monika reminded the other, “Walking here there were a lot of clouds. The fact that there’s a storm going on isn’t surprising to me at all.”

It was only their second time meeting as a class for this seminar. If there was to be an exercise, what could it be? There were so many students, but perhaps there was a reason Radella wanted everyone there. It could be a group based-exercise where everyone would have to be put into teams to practice magic against one another.

No one knew.

It took about ten minutes to take a quick trip to the dorms to retrieve their cloaks. Since Elizabeta was very new and didn’t have any of her belongings there, Florentyna had offered the other a spare cloak of hers to wear before everyone began taking the journey out to the lake.

The lake close to Lenfia was very beautiful. On a sunny day, magical beings that lived in water would appear. Though with the storm taking place, the only thing that could be seen was trees and water - which was expected for any lake…

…until the group had made their arrival to the lake with the rest of their peers, where they were greeted to something else. Something that wouldn’t normally be part of a lake at all.

A large tower. This tower didn’t look like any tower - but it was large and was made out of dark stone. The Headmistress had been standing in front of it; waiting patiently until everyone had settled down in a spot that they could still see her. 

No one knew what it was. Was this something that the Headmistress had set up? It had to have been at least a hundred feet in height, with the water of the lake trashing against it in small waves due to the wind from the storm. 

Behind the trees and crowd, it hadn’t been just the Headmistress as the only faculty member there. A man, dressed in only a robe, had been watching from a distance as in his hands, he had been holding onto a clipboard. The robe he wore was an invisible one to make sure no one would spot him. 

He was there for one reason. And one reason early, which contributed to why he was paying so close attention to the scene. Soon enough, he took a spot behind a tree as the Headmistress began her speech.

“Hello again,” The Headmistress spoke in a clear, loud tone so everyone could hear her. She looked towards the large tower, taking in a moment to examine it before turning her head back to the group, “My apologies for having to bring you out here. But I’ve brought each one of you out here as an emergency. You see, this pillar appeared after the storm began this morning. Some of your Professors examined it, and we’ve haven’t figured out a cause as to what it is.”

“Hm…” As the explanation was being provided by Radella, Monika had reached into her bag and put on a pair of glasses. They looked like ordinary glasses, but with the tap of its sides; it had glew with power which allowed for her to scan the tower from where she was standing. It took a moment or so, but after the scan was complete, her eyes narrowed a bit at the results she was reading, “…According to this scan, it says this pillar isn’t even made out of matter - it doesn’t have a source. Not rock, not stone… That’s so interesting.”

“Maybe it’s composed by some sort of magical energy?” Natalya whispered while keeping her voice down, wanting to still listen to what the Headmistress had to say, “We did learn about that in our first-year seminar about how magic can create different matters, solids, liquids, or gasses as illusions.”

“Your faculty and I have examined the pillar thoroughly, and while we could not figure out any results of what it may be,” The Headmistress continued with her speech, now motioning to the pillar once again, “We are concerned of its presence near our campus. We’re speculating it as an object that could perhaps rob our powers.” The second this was said aloud; chatter among the audience of students began to fill the area. Mostly out of panic, but the Headmistress shushed them by waving her hands to calm them down, “That’s why I’ve brought the entire second-year class here. Consider this as your very first exercise. I’m hoping that as an entire class, we can work as a team to destroy this thing.”

It was an exercise. Just as the group of fairies had suspected - why else would the Headmistress bring them all out there? 

“We’ll divide into groups of six,” Radella clapped her hands, “Get into formation, and once your groups are together, we’ll line up and allow for each group to use as much as their magic on it to get it to break. Understood?”

Looking at each other, Natalya, Florentyna, Mei, Monika, Tatyana, and Elizabeta had managed to find themselves in a group easily. All it took now was the waiting part when getting in line, seeing that there were a lot of students. Fifteen minutes later when the groups were together, their group had been tenth in the line with attacking the pillar.

The thing was that while most of the students assumed it would be an easy task to take down the pillar, it wasn’t the case at all. And this was shown with the first group that had gone up.

The first group had one by one, transformed into their fairy forms and flew up towards in the direction of the tower. As a group, one by one, they had launched their own individual attacks to it - only for their magic to be absorbed by the tower. 

Gasps could be heard from the audience of students. No one expected for it to happen, resulting in the first group to step down out of panic seeing that none of their attacks were working. With the second group, it was the same case. 

Attacking the pillar did nothing. Even launching physical attacks with their legs seemed to do nothing, other than resulting in the tower to keep in place while the waves from the water clashed against it. Then, the third group came, followed by the fourth and the fifth…

…Yet, there were no damages to be made. 

The tower was completely intact. Despite over forty fairies going and attacking it to see if there would be any damage, nothing had happened.

And then came the tenth group.

Natalya looked up towards the pillar with her eyes narrowed in frustration. She could see no damages being made, despite the fact that there were multiple fairies behind her and her friends. What kind of exercise was this? Radella claimed that the tower appeared out of nowhere - but how come it was taking these many fairies to try and break it? 

“This thing is huge…” Mei had been looking up at the tower beside Natalya, clearly intimidated by its presence, “How the heck are we supposed to break it down if no one else can?”

It was a valid question. Natalya looked over at Mei and gave a small shrug, “I’m going into this with an open mind,” She said simply, “Back on Earth, one of the sayings my father used to tell me before I had to compete or do a major exam was that the bigger they are, the harder they will fall from the domination of knowledge…” 

With her hands held out, an orb of magic had formed in between her hands. She closed her eyes for a moment and held the orb up into the sky. She didn’t say anything, but instead, allowed for the one word to fill her mind.

_Charmix._

The light from the orb surrounded her body. Stepping out of the light only a few seconds later, the robe and attire she had been wearing before had completely changed in front of the group to her familiar fairy form with a pair of wings grown out of her back. Natalya turned to face the group and took in a sigh, “Let’s just give it what we got.”

One by one, the transformation sequences took place amongst the group. All of them, instead of wearing their robes, had now been wearing beautiful sparkling outfits and attires that matched to their fairy forms.

“Augh!” Florentyna gasped and looked down at herself, “This ran is totally going to ruin my outfit!”

A small eye-roll was given by Elizabeta when she heard this. Classic Florentyna - even when her clothes as a fairy had magic in them, she still worried about it, “Come on,” She jumped into the air; looking down at the other from her place, “The sooner we break this tower, the sooner we can get inside and you can use your powers to clean it.”

That was enough of a reason to get Florentyna to jump into the air just behind Elizabeta. She had reached for the ring that was placed on her finger; taking it off and tossing it into the air where a scepter had taken its shape. The scepter, that was now in her hand, was glowing of bright light that had the audience of students shielding their eyes from how bright it was at first.

“Alrighty!” Florentyna glared right at the tower; determination filled in her eyes because Elizabeta was right. If the pillar broke, the sooner they could all go inside, “Let’s see how this thing can handle the power of Solis!”

Waving the scepter in the air, a bright orb of magic had formed. She had focused her magical energy into the spell before in seconds, she had launched the first attack straight into the tower. Her assumption was that it would be enough to do damage…

…but instead, nothing changed with the tower.

“What?!” She gasped and brought her hands to her cheeks out of shock, “B-But, I used all I had in that attack! I don’t get it!”

“Maybe we should try combining our powers?” Tatyana suggested, flying directly to where Florentyna had been in the air.

“Yeah, let’s try that,” Mei agreed and held out her hand towards Tatyana. In an instant, Tatyana had followed, as well as allowed for Florentyna to take her hand as the three fairies formed themselves in a circle.

Magic began to form around the three girls. As this was done, Radella had kept her eyes on them, watching the three closely as a bright magical orb of power formed in between their circle before the enchantment was said aloud by Florentyna, Mei, and Tatyana;

_“Breakus thy dark tower!”_

The group had let go of each other’s hands to launch the attack towards the tower. It was a much powerful blast that had the waves crashing even bigger than before and having some of the second-year students watching beginning to back away. What everyone had assumed would be enough to break the tower - it wasn’t the case at all.

As the waves began to die down, again, the fairies were greeted to the large dark pillar still standing intact.

“WHAT?!” Mei lowered herself to the ground; grinding her teeth out of frustration, “What— We did a convergence spell on it! That was every ounce of my power in it too!”

“There’s something wrong here,” Tatyana looked at the Headmistress now, who had been keeping her distance from the fairies who were attempting their attacks, “Headmistress, was it able to be determined what kind of tower it is? Does it absorb magic, or does it need to be taken down with physical attacks,”

“Neither work, Tatyana,” Was the only response that Radella could give as she watched the scene; her arms resting behind her back, “You, Mei, and Florentyna were the first to try a convergence spell. Perhaps try using your own magical abilities on it than a combination of multiple, because we don’t know what type of magic its weak to.”

It could take damage depending on the magic that was being used on it? Already from the convergence spell that was used, it was a combination of music, nature, and sunlight. All three sources of different power - and it wasn’t enough to at least leave a dent in the tower at all.

“Maybe let’s not combine powers,” Elizabeta spoke up in thought after a moment, “But launch our own individual attacks one by one.”

It was an idea. After all, Radella did say to try something else, which Monika and Natalya agreed to the proposal by the other.

Elizabeta flew in front of the tower where she had held her hands down towards the waves that surrounded the tower. Having control of the waves, she was able to manipulate the water to covering the tower, before magic filled the tower’s shape and suddenly, the water had turned into molecules that became solid. With it being solid, she had flew herself directly forward; kicking her foot against the tower that was covered in the molecules only for it to shatter…

…but behind it, the tower was still in tact.

“This is crazy,” Elizabeta pulled herself back and lowered down to the ground; trying not to step onto her foot since she had used a physical attack, “Not even physical and magical attacks work…”

It was Monika’s turn next. The fairy of technology flew towards where Elizabeta once was in the air, holding her hands out as fast lines of magic had went shooting from the palms of her hands against the tower. It was a rapid attack spell with the addition of electricity, which with the combination of the water, she would assume would be enough to light the tower on fire.

But again, nothing happened even after Monika had conducted her spells.

“It didn’t even dent the damn thing-!” Monika grinded down on her teeth in frustration.

Seeing that none of her friends magic was working, Natalya was beginning to find herself getting frustrated. After doing a convergence spells, using personal attacks, and even physical attacks - it did nothing at all. 

Flying up into the air, flames had burst all around Natalya from the sudden anger she was experiencing. Everyone in the audience of second years had gasped at the sight of this, though Radella kept her expression calm because she knew that the one who was next up in the group would most likely try to save it.

Natalya held her hands into the air where the flames that were once around her had formed into them, before soon, she had launched a powerful blast of fire directly at the tower. 

Though with that one attack, a loud blast could be heard when its impact made contact with the tower. The impact being so grand that the ground began to shake and wind picked up drastically, thus resulting in Natalya to gasp as the impact of the environment shot her straight down to the ground where she had taken a landing directly onto her back.

This tower was no joke. They were all struggling. No one knew what to do.

“I can’t… do it anymore,” Florentyna couldn’t help but to speak out, looking over at the Headmistress, “Can we take our pass—“

_“No,”_

Florentyna, Tatyana, Elizabeta, Mei and Monika all turned their heads in the direction of where Natalya was standing. She had been glaring right at the tower, full of anger at the sight of it to see that her own magic wasn’t working against it.

And she wouldn’t allow it at all.

“I’m not tired,” Natalya looked over and jumped into the air, “This thing is _mine.”_

The determination in Natalya’s tone had Radella smirk just a bit at that. That was one thing she loved to see in her students - determination and passion to fight…

…and it also reminded her of a fairy she knew back then with the same powers that Natalya had.

And so, the rest of the seminar took place as such. While the tenth group was out minus Natalya, the following groups had proceeded with their own attacks - to the point where an hour had passed and no damage had been done. When each group had gone to attack it, everyone was instructed to go back to their suites and take a rest for the day - being excused from attending their other classes so they could regain their magical energy.

The groups were growing smaller. It was at this point that Tatyana, Mei, Monika, Florentyna and Elizabeta had all gone back to the suite to clean themselves up. Even the Headmistress, who wouldn’t stop Natalya from attempting to break it down, had left to leave the girl to doing what she needed to do.

Whispers amongst the second-years students could be heard. Some of them included how crazy Natalya was for staying outside when it was a rain-storm out. Yet, some of them were also shocked to see how she still had so much powerful energy in her to keep on fighting on her own.

Getting back to the suite was the most relieving thing for everyone in the group to experience. The best part was that there were two bathrooms in the suite, which allowed for two people to take showers at a time and clean up from the mess.

Florentyna and Mei had volunteered to go first seeing that they were the first in the group to have participated in the activity. They were the most dirty, but they were quick with their showers before allowing the next two, which was Tatyana and Elizabeta, to go next. Leaving Monika last for the shower.

All of the girls had gathered in the living room suite where Tatyana had prepared a herbal hot chocolate. It would be enough to give them each the energy they needed for their powers to regenerate, but everyone was still exhausted.

“I can’t believe Natalya is still zapping that tower,” Mei had been sitting on one of the lounge chairs with her cup of hot chocolate in hand. Her hair had been twisted into a towel due to it being wet while wearing a cat pajama onesie since there was no need to go out anymore for the day since they were all being excused from classes.

Florentyna yawned while sitting on the couch. Her hair was also wrapped in a towel while she had been wearing a green face mask, as well as a green robe while she was in the middle of painting her nails, “Honestly?” She looked over at Mei, “If I still had my magical energy, I’d be out there fighting with her too.”

“I just hope she’s okay…” Tatyana frowned and placed down the kettle she had used to make the hot chocolate. She took a seat beside Florentyna while holding onto her own mug, “If she doesn’t come back by the evening, I’m going to go out to get her myself. I know she’s strong-willed and determined, but everyone has limits.”

“Agreed,” Elizabeta had been standing behind the couch with a cookie in her mouth. She needed energy, and if she was going to get energy through hot chocolate, she figured she may as well pair it with a snack that was sweet, “And using up your magical energy really gets to you—“

In the midst of her sentence, a phone suddenly went off.

The group that had been sitting in the living room paused mid-conversation to look around at where the source of it was coming from.

“Uhm,” Florentyna tilted her head in confusion, “Is that Monika’s phone?”

“No, she brings hers into the bathroom to listen to music while showering,” Tatyana stood up from her spot on the couch, immediately recognizing the ringtone of who it belonged to, “It’s coming from mine and Natalya’s room. I’ll be right back,”

Stepping away from the couch, Tatyana made her way towards the room where indeed, she noticed Natalya’s book bag beside her bed. When they had all returned to the suite to retrieve their cloaks, it was decided that they wouldn’t need their belongings if they were going to be doing an exercise out on the lake. Which came to the automatic conclusion in her head that Natalya had also left her phone in her bag.

Reaching into the back and managing to make contact with what looked like a smartphone, Tatyana was indeed correct as she pulled it out and looked at the caller ID. 

_Alfred_ 💞

Tatyana’s eyes widened as she stared at the phone, unsure of what to do at all. Why was Alfred calling in the first place? She knew that he talked with Natalya on the phone every day - but she couldn’t suddenly answer and tell him that his girlfriend was off fighting some tower by herself because she was determined to break it. On top of that, in the middle of a rain storm.

The only solution she could think of was rushing out of the suite and holding the phone over to Florentyna right away. 

Florentyna, who was in the middle of blowing her nails, stared at the phone in confusion before taking it, “Wha-“

“It’s Alfred,” Tatyana began in a panicked tone, “Do we answer it??? We can’t just tell him that Natalya’s out fighting! He’s going to freak out!”

“Relax relax,” Florentyna sat up and placed her nail polish down. As the phone continued to ring, Mei and Elizabeta were leaning over in curiosity, “You made the right choice to give it to me. I’ve got this,” And after a moment of silence, she answered the green button belonging to the phone, “ _Florentyna speaking.”_

A moment of silence came from the other line as this was heard. Alfred, who had been in his room laying on his bed, stared at the ceiling since he did not expect to hear _that_ at all, “…Florentyna?” 

“Yes,” Florentyna continued, taking a sip out of her hot chocolate to clear her throat before confirming once more, “How may I help you?”

“…why do you have Natalya’s phone?” Were the first words that came from Alfred. He was confused, which resulted in him sitting up from his bed and looking over at his bedside table, “And why do you sound like a really bad telephone operator?”

There, had been a picture frame of him and Natalya at the first time she had met his family. His mother had thought it would be cute to take a picture of them together under some of the trees behind his family’s palace, which his mother had framed and given one to him and her.

“Oh, uh…” Florentyna let out a nervous chuckle now. She didn’t know what to say as Mei and Elizabeta stood up; making hand gestures on what she _should_ say to not raise his suspicion. Based on her tone of voice, it was clear enough to them that she didn’t know what to do and that Alfred was probably suspicious, “I’m watching it for her while she showers.”

“She’s showering?” Alfred asked with his brows risen.

“Yessir.” Florentyna confirmed, which only had Mei facepalm the second she said this while Elizabeta sat down with her jaw dropped. That would only mean the man would call _after_ her shower.

“He’s going to call after he thinks she finishes her ‘shower’,” Mei whispered to the other.

Florentyna’s eyes widened at her mistake, resulting in her to clarify, “A-And uh, after her shower we’re uh… We have class this evening, so she won’t be able to talk until later.”

“I see.” The confusion was still there in Alfred’s tone of voice. He wouldn’t really push it, though he was confused because he thought that she only had classes in the morning and afternoons. Not in the evening. But if something had happened, he figured that she could handle it and he’d call her later, “Alright. Well, tell her I called, and have fun in your class.”

“Thanks!—“ Florentyna stood up from her seat, “And don’t worry, I’ll make sure she calls you back after she’s properly rested.”

Alfred’s brow rose once more, “Properly rested?—“

“Okaygottagonowbyeeee!” 

_Click._

Florentyna immediately pressed the red button to hang-up the call before placing the phone down onto the coffee table. Tatyana looked nervous, all while Mei and Elizabeta had shocked expressions on their faces, “Oh come on, guys!” Florentyna sat down once more, “I tried! Besides, he doesn’t know she’s fighting. It’s all okay.”

The thing was, things didn’t feel okay at all after that call.

That late afternoon at the University of Heroics and Bravery was a normal, average day. Alfred in particular had just returned from his own classes of the day and went to shower, which meant he had the entire time to himself. He was planning to ask Natalya over the phone if she wanted to stop by for some dinner together, but the fact that Florentyna had picked up her phone and claimed that she needed to be properly rested?

Did something happen today at Lenfia that had her more tired than usual?

Maybe he was just worrying about it too much. There was once a time that Alfred thought he was being over protective with Natalya, but she had reassured him that she didn’t think he was. If anything, she thought she was the one being overprotective because she worried about him just as he worried about her. 

That was the thing about being in love. Caring for your partner and wanting to make sure that they were safe and okay at all times, even when you couldn’t be there for them.

“Properly rested…” Alfred hummed to himself in thought while his phone was placed onto his nightstand. He plugged it in quickly before laying back on his bed and staring at the ceiling in thought, “Why don’t I believe that…”

_“Dude, anytime Florentyna picks up the phone for someone else, it means she’s covering their ass.”_

Looking up from his bed, Alfred had been greeted to the sight of Gilbert walking into their shared room where he had been in a training uniform. Looks like he had just returned from his classes from the day, resulting in the blonde to wave at him as a greeting, “I dunno man,” He sighed and continued to lay on the bed, “I know how Florentyna is, but the thing is that I know Natalya. She’s full of energy all the time - why does she have to get proper rest?… Is she sick?”

“Just text her,” Gilbert placed his belongings beside his bed before sitting down on the edge of it. Lifting one foot up, he began removing his boots, “Ask her how she’s doing. Maybe Florentyna doesn’t want to tell you that she’s sick so you don’t have to worry.”

“But I talked to Natalya this morning,” Alfred explained to the other and turned his head to face him, “And she seemed normal,.. Unless something from Shadow Haunt hurt her, but it didn’t take effect until now?” He sat up and slowly began to reach for his shoes, “Maybe I should take a trip over to Lenfia, just to go check-up on her—“

The second this was said, Gilbert looked at him and rose a brow with unamusement to his expression, “Bro, don’t,” He stopped him and stood up from his spot, “Call her later. I’m sure she’s just tired because she had a long day. And if she doesn’t answer again or Florentyna pulls her usual stunt… okay _,_ then _maybe_ consider going.”

The issue was that Alfred had no idea what the truth really was. He would assume for now that Natalya was doing her own thing, but Gilbert was right. Perhaps he was overreacting just a bit, and thus decided to get up from his bed and walk over to his desk where a few of his video game consoles were set out. Maybe distracting himself would be a good idea.

All he could hope was that she was okay.

* * *

The rain outside was beginning to pick up at that point. Remaining in the air, Natalya was drenched head to toe. The outfit she wore with her fairy form was drenched, the curls in her hair that were once in tack now were dripping wet - but she still wasn’t giving up.

The tower stood above her; lingering down at her as if it were the dominating one in this fight.

No, she wasn’t going to allow it to end this easily.

Again, her hands were in the air as orbs of magic filled in her palms. The orbs suddenly turned into rock hard ice before she had launched it directly at the tower, for again, no damage to be taken. The orbs shattered upon making impact with the tower, now leaving the fairy in more dismay than she was.

Her hands were shaking in fists. What else could she do? If she were to use the true powers of the dragon flame and heart of ice, it could cause a small earthquake from its impact.

But her mind was already made up.

Natalya reached into the pocket of her skirt where a beautiful crystal was always kept in place. She only used it in times of emergencies, and while this one isn’t an emergency - it was one where she needed her full power. The rain was picking up, she was becoming weaker - it was now or never.

She held the crystal in both of her hands while looking down at it. Rain droplets landed on it, but as she focused her magical energy on it, it began to glow. The glow had increased in full size, but she didn’t look away despite it being blinding to the sight. 

Within seconds, what was once a crystal in her hands had turned into a beautiful scepter. This scepter was made of beautiful crystal glass and diamond. On the top of it, had a shape of a flame connected to a crystal that radiated with magical energy. 

The last time she had used her true powers as the Princess, it was for a life or death fight.

Now again, she was to destroy whatever this tower was - in hopes that it wasn’t true what Radella had said about it being a source to obtain the positive magic from magical beings.

Holding it up in the air; she panted heavily as the light continued to glow and glow. It had became so bright, that those just a mile away from Lenfia who were all in their rooms and suites, noticed something shimmering from the windows. Alas, no one was phased - thinking that it was just the weather beginning to clear up.

“I’m going to destroy this damn thing…” Natalya gritted underneath her breath before swinging the magic directly towards the tower, “ _Whether it likes it or not!”_

A powerful blast of magic had went flying from her direction; launching directly to the tower where a powerful blast could be heard from her direction. This powerful blast had been enough to send even her flying directly to the ground with a shriek, all while the trees in the surrounding area had went flying off in different directions from how powerful the blast was.

The loud blast was enough for indeed those who had thought the light was from the storm, to look out their windows now at the thought of it being an explosion.

The explosion resulted in what felt to be a small Earthquake to fill the campus. Those who were in they rooms were startled. Even for those in Natalya’s suite, Florentyna who was once again painting her nails; shrieked when her nail polish brush had covered her fingers and ruined the manicure she was working on.

“What the hell!?” She sat up and quickly closed the bottle so it wouldn’t spill and make a mess, “Was that an Earthquake!?”

“No idea,” Elizabeta stood up from her spot on the couch and immediately approached the window of the living room. 

Looking outside of it, the rain storm was still going on as she examined the area. She could see other students in their rooms stepping out to their balconies to see what was going on, but there was nothing wrong. Everything was normal on Lenfia’s campus…

…Until what sounded like thunder clashed in the sky.

Then it all made sense.

She sighed and looked over at the group, “It was just the thunder,” She reassured the group, which had her walk back now before taking a seat down, “I guess the thunder was just powerful enough to get the place a bit shaken up.”

“That’s crazy,” Mei couldn’t help but to call out from the kitchen where she had been in the process of cleaning out her mug where she had drank her hot chocolate from, “Then again, this is the magic dimension. Everything is ten times crazier here.”

Unfortunately for the group, as well as for those at Lenfia, no one had figured out that the true source for the sudden shakiness in the environment was actually from Natalya herself.

For Natalya, landing on the ground didn’t stop her from flying right back up into the air. She was panting; her face was red, though she kept her eyes right on the tower to see if anything had happened. There was smoke everywhere - mostly from the fact that she had used all fire in that attack. 

The smoke clouded her vision at first, but after waving her hand in the air to use a quick wind spell to get it out of her way - that was when she was greeted to the sight of it.

The tower.

No damage was taken at all.

It was still intact. 

Her job dropped immediately as she clenched onto the scepter tightly in her hands. How… How did it not break!? It was a spell that would wipe out anyone easily - but it did nothing to a magical tower!?

The scepter had disappeared in her hands and turned back into the same crystal from before. Looking down at it, she sighed and placed it back into her pocket. She was so tired… Tired at the fact that she had used all her magic up now. 

The rain didn’t help either. She was soaking wet, her cheeks were a bit red, and she didn’t know what else to do. She’s been attacking the tower for who knows how long.

With that exhaustion came with a sudden pain in her head. She placed a hand against her forehead and sighed in a shaky voice, “I don’t feel good…” She muttered. Could it be that this tower had been absorbing her power? She had attacked it with the majority of her magic - what if it managed to suck in every ounce of power that she did have?

Closing her eyes, that was when she couldn’t take it anymore. Her eyes were rolled to the back of her head and suddenly, her wings hadn’t been flying anymore. Natalya’s body went limp midair, where she had fallen directly down to the ground and taken a hit against her back. 

The hit is enough to knock her unconscious. With the pain in her head and the exhaustion that had built up in her body, her fairy form and detransformed; leaving her in the robes and attire she wore before the seminar earlier. 

* * *

It was a fascinating sight to the man who stood there in his cloak. He had done all his notes gathered from the other fairies that had went up with each group, but this one fairy in particular who seemed to keep fighting… 

…For him, he couldn’t even tell who she was other than the name that was written down in his notes.

Natalya Arvloskaya. 

In addition to her school photo and ID number. What kind of fairy was she in the first place? 

Blue orbs watched the entire scene where she had attacked the tower. It was at this point that everyone was gone; avoiding the storm and recovering from participating in such an intense exercise. He based on his observations expected for the second-year fairies to be finished with their portion of the exercise after using a few attacks.

While the statistics were that the majority were exhausted after they attacked, for this one fairy, that didn’t seem to be the case.

She had a burning flame - a fuel inside her to keep going and attempt breaking the tower as best as she could.

However, that was when he had noticed after a while that her frustration was beginning to build up. She suddenly had pulled out something from the pocket of her skirt, which magically had turned into a scepter which she had used to launch even more attacks on the dark tower.

Again, nothing had happened, other than the fact that he had held his hands out to form a protective barrier from the impact of the blast that was launched at the tower.

That was when he noticed it. The scepter disappearing in her hands, her wings suddenly stopping - and within seconds, the girl dropping directly to the ground.

The clipboard in his hand vanished. He had enough data to determine what he was looking for exactly of the second-year fairies. However, this didn’t stop him from rushing out and approaching the unconscious girl.

The rain continued to fall and pick up the longer he looked down at her. He knelt down, observing the details of her face. She looked… Very familiar. There was also the elemental factor that despite being exhausted from using all of her power, she had radiated powerful energy from the bottom of her heart.

The man scooped her up into his arms, using his arms to support her back and legs while her head was hung down. She was breathing slowly, but based on how face her red was, he noticed she was beginning to develop a fever.

And so began his journey back to Lenfia where he could get the appropriate medical attention for her.

* * *

It was the evening. About three hours later after Natalya was left outside to take care of the tower that she was so determined to take down. 

Everyone had begun getting ready for bed. However, for Tatyana, she was dressed in her cloak as well as a fresh pair of clothes; already in the process of grabbing an umbrella and putting on a pair of boots.

The pixies were already put to bed. After their day in the infirmary to get checked-up on with the nurse, the nurse had determined it would be safe if the pixies were to spend the night with their bonded fairies. All of the pixies were fast asleep, except for one pixie.

Homura didn’t see Natalya at all return from the seminar. Her worries had begun to build up, which was why Florentyna had put the offer to let the pixie watch television with her until she was sleepy. The pixie, who immediately agreed, was resting on Florentyna’s lap while nibbling on a piece of an apple.

That was when the ones on the couch noticed Tatyana’s behavior, in addition to those who were in the kitchen in the middle of finishing last minute homework at the dining table.

Her change of appearance from the pajamas that everyone was wearing managed to catch everyone’s attention when she stepped out of her and Natalya’s shared bedroom. Florentyna, who was in the living room watching television, paused as she lowered the volume and looked up, “Where are you going, Tatyana?”

Tatyana froze upon hearing her name. She turned to face the other with a small frown brought to her lips, “I’m going to look for Natalya. She’s been out there for too long, and the fact that we’ve been ignoring Alfred’s phone calls, I just smell a recipe of disaster.”

“When it’s still thundering like this?” Florentyna gasped and sat up a bit on the couch, “But you took a shower and you’re all clean—“

The conversation that was being made between the two fairies had Homura look up at Florentyna with concern immediately brought to her face, “N-Natalya’s in the rain storm?”

That wasn’t a good thing at all. 

Florentyna looked down at Homura and gave a reassuring smile before patting her head gently with her finger, “Well… Yes,” She explained calmly, “She’s in the middle of an intense battle right now with this exercise we got earlier in our second-year seminar… But she didn’t want to stop going against it when the class was over.”

The conversation that was being held between the two fairies and pixie was picked up by those who were sitting in the dining room table. Monika, who had been wearing a pair of glasses and was in the middle of writing down notes paused before she closed her textbook, “You know what,” She began, “If Tatyana’s heading out, I’m coming with her.”

“The thing is that you know she won’t listen,” Mei looked at the other and ran a hand through her own hair, sighing as she played with the ends of it, “You know how she gets when she’s determined. It’s the one thing I admire about her - she’s a fighter and doesn’t back down—“

As the sentence was said aloud, a clash of thunder, followed by a strike of lightning could be heard. The lights of the suite had flickered quickly, before in seconds, it had all shut off. 

Including the television, which had Florentyna pout as she placed the remote on the coffee table, “Welp, power’s dead.”

“No shit,” Monika sighed and stood up from her seat. She approached one of the cabinets in the kitchen to pull out a few flashlights, “The school should probably be kicking in a generator in the next few minutes. But I’m still going out with Tatyana to get Natalya. This is ridiculous.”

“I’m so confused,” Tatyana frowned as she approached Monika to reach for a flashlight, “It thought Lenfia’s power was run by magic.”

“It is,” Monika handed a flashlight to the other before handing another one to Mei, now turning hers on in the kitchen for some light, “But magic is power. Power runs out eventually. That’s why I’m assuming that the generator should come on soon—“

In the midst of explaining her thoughts on the matter, a loud knock was placed against the door.

The darkness in the suite, in addition to the knocking, was enough to have the girls begin shrieking. Specifically Tatyana and Florentyna who were startled by it, all while Homura shrieked herself and hid herself into a pillow beside Florentyna.

“Who the heck could be visiting at this time?” Florentyna gasped once she managed to catch herself. Since she had been a bit annoyed from being startled, she had sat right up from the couch and made her way to the door. She didn’t know who it was, thus resulting in her to open it right away, “Who is it—“

Her eyes widened upon who she saw.

In front of the door, there had been an individual. She couldn’t tell who the individual was, but it had been wearing a dark, long cloak that shielded his face and body. He had to be at least six feet in height, well built, and someone with very good strength with the grip that he had on the body he was holding onto…

…that body, being Natalya herself.

She was unconscious. 

“Ohmygosh, Natalya-!” Florentyna gasped, resulting in Tatyana and Monika to rush over where their own gasps could be heard.

The man had said nothing. He looked directly to where the three fairies were standing, who were clearly shocked, before speaking in a lowered whisper, “…Where can I place her? She has a fever.”

“H-Here!” Tatyana blurted out and rushed into the suite with the flashlight, motioning for the mysterious person to follow. 

The figure stepped in between Florentyna and Monika now who were still shocked, before he officially began to make his way down the hallway of the suite towards Tatyana and Natalya’s shared bedroom. 

In the room, Tatyana had pulled back the covers of the bed and placed down towels that would absorb the water that was dripping from Natalya. As she was laid down, the fairy also had taken off her cloak and boots, now already searching through her potions to see if she had one that would give her the energy she needed to fight off a fever.  


As the fairy was searching, the figure in the cloak stared down at the unconscious girl. Natalya’s head had been resting against her pillow where she was breathing gently. She was asleep - needing to regain the energy that she had lost from taking on the tower from before. His eyes scanned around the bedroom as well - observing it.

It looked like the standard double-bedroom for any suite in a college. It was spacious, but he noticed a lot of plants around. Not on Natalya’s side, but specifically from Tatyana. 

All on Natalya’s side had been things that a magical being wouldn’t necessarily see in that dimension. A lot of pillows, books, and other miscellaneous things that girls in their late teens would had. There were also a lot of pictures too. Pictures hung over her bed of what could be assumed as her family, as well as pictures of her being close with a tall man with blonde hair and bright blue eyes,

One picture that stood out to him was one that was framed and resting on her nightstand with a phone charger in front of it. In the picture had her hugging him and placing a kiss against his cheek, all while the man in the image was holding the camera up in the form of a selfie.  


Then there was another image. This time, of the couple together wearing very nice attire. It seemed to look like royal attire based on the way they were standing with one another with someone taking their photo in front of a lot of trees.

However, while he knew her name, he still couldn’t figure out why her power felt so familiar and her face resembled of someone that he did know.

The rummaging through her belongings could be heard from Tatyana. By the time she had finished finding what she needed, she turned herself around to face where she had left the figure, “Thank you for bringing her here—“ She began before pausing mid-sentence again.

Tatyana slowly rose herself from the kneeling position she was in when she was looking for the potions. The figure… It - or he - wasn’t there at all! All she could see was Natalya laying in bed entirely asleep, which had her wonder if the figure had walked out to the living room to leave on his own?

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case at all.

“—Who the heck was that guy?” Mei’s voice could be heard as she wandered into the bedroom; Homura flying just behind her while Florentyna had been peeking her head into the bedroom.

Just as Tatyana had seen, they were also greeted to the sight of the figure gone.

“Whoa, what happened?” Florentyna immediately approached the bed where Natalya was fast asleep on. She knelt down; sighing in relief that her friend was alright all while Tatyana had been in the process of putting a cold rag over her head to attempt helping her fever, “Where did he go?”

“I… Don’t know,” Tatyana admitted with a small frown brought to her lips. As she finished putting the rag onto Natalya, she had placed the potion down on the other’s bedside and went to retrieve another blanket. This time, using the blanket to tuck the girl in before turning on a heated feature so she could be kept warm, “He placed Natalya down, and just, disappeared!”

“Transportation magic is pretty freaking scary,” Mei sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed; placing a hand where Natalya’s thigh was and patting it, “I’m just glad whoever it was brought her back… But how the heck did he get through Lenfia’s security? The doors of the dorm lock after 8, and it’s almost 10.”

“No idea,” Florentyna responded. As she spoke, Homura had flown from behind Mei and landed right onto Natalya’s chest, “Maybe he bypassed it as a magical being?”

Homura looked up at Natalya. She was fast asleep, which was relief. Regardless, she was still worried about the fairy as she lowered her head down and pressed her face into the girl’s chest to snuggle, “Feel better, Natalya…”

“We can ask the Headmistress in the morning,” Tatyana suggested before opening up the potion bottle. There, she had sat down beside Natalya’s arms and looked over at Florentyna and Mei, “Right now, can you guys help lift her up a bit to get her to wake up? This potion will help with her fever and make sure she doesn’t get sick, so I don’t want her to choke on it.”

It was still all a shock to the group that Natalya was found in the condition that she was in. Alas, upon being given the instructions by Tatyana, they indeed did help her administer the medicine so it would be enough to give Natalya a bit of energy to wake up.

After all, they did have class the following day. As for if Natalya would be able to attend, that would be completely up to her when she did wake up.

And perhaps they’d all be able to figure out what led up to the events of that day.

* * *

The following morning arrived very quickly. For those who had taken care of Natalya, Tatyana had kept watch seeing that they shared a room and made sure nothing had happened to her throughout the night. 

An hour before everyone was expected to be up, Natalya had woken up from her unconscious state. Her body ached, head hurt, but one thing she had to tell herself was getting that sleep helped her feel energized. 

Her vision was blurry as she looked around the room. Laying up from the bed, Natalya allowed for her eyes to gaze over to her night stand where her phone was set down, as well as an empty potion bottle. All it took was for her to pick up the bottle to realize that it was a healing potion, before sighing and placing it down to grab her phone.

The phone’s lock screen turned on automatically. On the lockscreen background, had been her and Alfred which was there she had noticed the time. 

Two hours before class. 

It had to be the works of the potion. Making her fall asleep early and wake up energized, which meant that she wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep normally until tonight. In addition, the amount of notifications she had on her phone frustrated her.

But upon opening her messages, she could see why. 

All of them were not only from her friends questioning where she was and asking her to come back, but there were two from Alfred doing a check-up on how she was doing, followed by another of if she was okay. The context of that message she could read was in Alfred’s words, where paraphrased, was that Florentyna had picked up her phone and answered which was instantly a red flag.

She felt bad at that moment. That’s right - she had forgotten her phone in the room and left it there. So while her friends and Alfred were messaging her asking what was going on, she was instead getting over a stupid tower that wouldn’t combust from the amount of her magic she had used on it.

It was weird though… Even when using her true power of the dragon flame and heart of ice.- the two most powerful elements of the entire magical universe - nothing happened to it.

Natalya sighed and stood up from her bed. This was a thought that she figured she’d mention to the Headmistress if she had the chance to see her later that day.

For now, all she could think of doing was getting a cup of coffee and something edible into her stomach. Not eating dinner always meant a recipe of disaster with waking up as hungry as she was at that moment.

Walking into the kitchen, she began with her morning routine. She was exhausted physically, but she wanted to force herself to go to classes today. It was still the beginning of the fall semester, so there was no way she could use her sick-days on something like this. Especially what if there were a case she had to go back home on Earth?

Then that was when she’d had to use her excused sick-days. 

The early morning progressed in silence. Eventually, Natalya hadn’t been the only one awake with Tatyana being the next to wake up, followed by Monika who were both shocked to see the blonde in the kitchen making herself breakfast as if nothing had happened. 

The smell of eggs and fresh oatmeal filled the air as it was placed down on the dining room table with a cup of coffee - and indicator of what she was going to eat. Though as she sat down to eat her meal, she was greeted to the eyes. Thus, resulting in Natalya looking up at the two other fairies with her brows risen, “…What?”

She didn’t remember how she got back to the suite. All she remembered was falling asleep, then waking up in her bed. So automatically, she had made the assumption that she had given up on the tower at some point, made her way back to the suite, and called it a night without eating dinner.

Tatyana and Monika exchanged brief looks with each other. Monika didn’t want to be the one to be the barer of bad news, so she had shrugged and walked to the pot of coffee that was brewed to pour herself a cup.

Tatyana on the other hand sighed to herself. If they were going to get any answers, she figured she would be the one to get them. She approached the seat in front of Natalya and sat down; frowning in the process of doing so, “…Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” A spoonful of the oatmeal that was mixed with blueberries was brought to Natalya’s mouth. She placed the food into her mouth and chewed for a moment, before swallowing and clearing her throat, “Why? Did I do something?”

“No no no-“ Tatyana shook her head and held up her hands innocently, which caught the Russian woman off guard. It was all weird to her… The potion she administered to Natalya would give her energy, but the fact that she didn’t look sick at all from fighting a tower for how long she did, it amazed her, “I was just… worried. You didn’t look good yesterday, Natalya…”

“Well, wasn’t it obvious?” A napkin was picked up where she had wiped her lips. Natalya folded it up and placed it onto the table; staring at the other woman with her brows risen, “I was pissed. I don’t like the fact that there was something mysterious near our campus and wanted it gone before it brought any harm,”

There was a small smile on Tatyana’s lips when this was said. This was the part of Natalya’s personality that she really admired… She could seem so intimidating and scary, but on the inside, she did care for those who were innocent. She would only attack those who had hurt people she loved or cared for, especially in defense, “I know, I know,” She began in reassurance, “But, who was that person who brought you back to Lenfia? You were knocked out unconscious, someone found you, and brought you back here.”

It took a moment for Natalya to process the information that she was given. Within seconds, small coughing could be heard from her as she was in the process of eating her food. She swallowed before reaching for her cup of coffee to take a few sips out of.

“ _What?”_ Were the first words that came from her after she had swallowed the coffee and cleared her throat. The mug was placed down before Natalya leaned over, intrigued, “ _Someone_ brought me back to Lenfia? Who? I don’t remember seeing anyone at the lake.”

“We were hoping you’d tell us, actually,” Monika spoke up from the counter. She had been in the process of pouring a small amount of milk into her coffee before stirring it, “Cause the person dropped you off and disappeared. No idea what happened with him.”

That wasn’t a pleasing thought to Natalya’s mind at all. She sat back in her seat; slouching just a bit before looking down at her food, “…I genuinely have no idea. Great way to start off my morning, really fucking uncomfortable… But I guess I should be grateful they brought me back,” She looked up at the two, “Should I mention it to Radella? I was planning on telling her about my suspicions about the tower later, but may as well mention that there could be an intruder here on campus?”

“No, I wouldn’t say it was an intruder,” Tatyana looked at the other with a small shrug, “If it was, why would they bring you back? That’s a good heart there. Maybe the person was passing by and saw you.”

The suggestion that was made by Tatyana didn’t make sense at all to Natalya. If it was a stranger who found her, how did he get into her building? Let alone, how did he know which room to bring her to? Unless he found her student ID, which was a possibility, something about it didn’t sit right at all with her.

Which was why after breakfast, she planned on asking a few questions. 

As the time in the morning passed, more of the fairies in the suite began to wake up to get ready for class. All of them were having breakfast, doing their check-ups on Natalya to see how she was doing, as well as having similar questions of who was the figure that had found her the previous day.

While all of them exchanged their questions, Monika had been the one to interrupt the conversation by pulling out her phone and noticing that there was an email notification from the Headmistress herself, “You guys,” She spoke from her seat in the living room where she was in the process of putting together her book bag for the day, “Check your emails.”

Everyone who had been in the process of getting ready stopped what they were doing when hearing this. No one knew what was going on, but all it took was a quick check to each of their emails to see that there was a direct message from Headmistress Radella herself…

…Specifically for all second-year students.

_Good morning,_

_This evening, I’d like to invite all of you to the dark tower once again. There is some information I’d like to discuss with you all regarding about yesterday’s events._

_This is a mandatory meeting for all second-year students. Attendance will be counted as part of your participation grade for the seminar. If you do not attend, you will have points deducted and will not have an opportunity this semester to make it up._

_Thank you._

_Headmistress Radella._

“Aww, why does it have to be in the evening?” Florentyna placed her phone back into her bag before standing up, “My television shows start in the evening after classes, and I want to eat dinner and watch…”

As the whining came from Florentyna, Natalya had been the one to approach her and flick her finger against her forehead. Florentyna gasped, holding onto where the flick was before the other spoke, “Just record them. You can do that in this dimension, right?” Natalya questioned, “Besides, you’re doing good so far this year. It’s just showing up and listening, and its part of your grade.”

The lecture that Natalya gave was something that Florentyna had been very much used to hearing since they were first-years. Specifically due to the fact that technically, Florentyna was held back during her first-year. She was a year older than everyone, and the only reason why she was held back was due to failing a majority of her classes. 

Natalya was right. She was on a good-academic streak, there was no chance she should risk it when a meeting was one of the simplest things to keep her participation grade high.

“You’re right, you’re right…” Florentyna sighed and placed her bag over her shoulder, “Sorry Natty. We’ll go.” 

Despite the meeting taking place towards the evening, this didn’t neglect the fact that all of them had their usual dosage of classes for the day. Some of them mostly in the morning and some of them mostly in the afternoon.

In today’s case, it was both instances. 

All of them had been taking different classes that semester, minus the fact that they all were taking one course that focused on the environments in different planets. It was a fun class being instructed by Professor Polonium - a very well known Professor at the university who was a high-elf wizard who specialized in nature.

It would be a long day. Back to back with classes and labs, it went by quickly, but by the time the meeting was to take place with Headmistress Radella for their seminar, everyone was exhausted. 

It had been just around 5 PM when everyone's classes were done for the day. The meeting was to be taken place at 5:30 PM, which gave a majority of second-year students the time to relax and catch up on things they had missed.

One of them being the questioning text messages that Natalya had received all day from one person in particular who never got a follow-up call from her the previous day.

Alfred  💕🌼 (17:10 PM): Florentyna said you were in the shower. Call me after, okay?

Alfred  💕🌼 (19:14 PM): …Natalya? 

Alfred  💕🌼 (22:40 PM): Natalya? Did something happen?

You (10:04 AM): I’m sorry, Alfred. I’m okay. I fell asleep last night after my shower and have had classes back to back all day. I’ll call after my seminar today.

Alfred  💕🌼 (11:50 AM): Are you really okay? 

You (14:30 PM): It’s a long story.

Alfred  💕🌼 (15:12 PM): You know I’m here for you, honey.

You (15:45 PM): I know, and I appreciate you for that. I have to go, spam me with messages if I don’t answer after this seminar.

Alfred  💕🌼 (16:00 PM): Don’t push yourself, babe.

You (17:03 PM): I’ll try not to.

A frustrated sigh came from Natalya was she sent her last message to Alfred. She knew he was only worried about her, but with being vague about how she was feeling exhausted from her classes and straining her body out from the tower, she could only imagine how he was feeling.

If he lied to her about how he was feeling just as she was lying to him then and there, she’d probably be pestering him with messages as well. 

Her phone was put away while she walked with Florentyna and Elizabeta to the meeting location at the lake. They had all left class together, leaving the plan to be meeting Mei, Monika, and Tatyana at the seminar. 

The convenience of it was that Elizabeta had been taking classes close by to where Natalya and Florentyna were having their classes - so it would be easy to show her around since after all, she was still adjusting after just recently being transferred to the college.

Upon arrival, all second-years were present. Just as Radella had said in her email, there had been a clipboard being handed around to check-off names to mark attendance. All the while Headmistress Radella had been standing in front of the tower; patiently waiting for the clipboard being finished to hand around so she could begin.

Right at 5:30 PM, she cleared her throat loudly to get the students who were chattering in the audience to get their attention. 

“Good evening, everyone,” Were the first words that had came from the Headmistress that everyone heard, “A big thank you to all who was able to make it to this meeting on short notice. The reason I’ve called you all here today is to discuss of yesterday… and well, the truth.”

There was a silence that came from the audience when this was said aloud. The truth? What did she mean by this? Were just some of the questions that were roaming throughout everyone’s minds, including Natalya who was glaring at the tower out of spite.

“You see,” The Headmistress turned herself to face the tower. She looked up at it, not in hatred, but in admiration as she approached it and placed a hand on it, “This tower didn’t actually show up. This tower was created by the work of a master wizard - a Paladin. Some of you may know him if you paid attention in your history lessons, and some of you may don’t.”

Shocked expressions formed around the expressions of different audience members. The tower was fake? That didn’t make sense at all. Even Natalya felt her hand turn into a tight fist as she turned her head to face her friends, “It was fake!?”

“I know, I know,” Tatyana waved her hand so the other wouldn’t burst into anger, “I’m shocked. There’s no possible way that tower could have been created by magic… It was way too powerful.”

“Yeah!” Monika was equally as upset as Natalya was. She turned to face the tower, only to allow her eyes to scan it properly with her magic while they stood there. It took her a second to finish the small spell, but once she did, her eyes stopped glowing before she turned to the group, “Just like yesterday, I did a similar scan and it’s not made out of any solids. I don’t get it.”

The chattering that came from the group managed to spread throughout the audience of students. Mostly out of frustration, anger, and even shock. The tower was described to be as an object that appeared randomly, and the concern was that it should be destroyed before it took any effect on the students of Lenfia.

Yet, that wasn’t the case at all?

The Headmistress had a large smile on her face as she heard the confusion spread amongst the audience. It was exactly as she had expected. And so, she had taken a step to the side and motioned to what looked to be a portal opening up beside her, “Ladies, I’d like for you to meet one of our newest faculty members to the university…”

As this was said aloud, a figure had stepped out of the portal. It had been wearing a simple dark blue cloak that shielded his body and face. Though when the hood was lowered and the cloak was removed, it was revealed to be a man who was tan, very tall, well-built, and had long blonde hair that was pulled into a side braid.

A person that Natalya, Florentyna, and Elizabeta’s jaws had all dropped to upon recognizing the figure.

“Is that-“ Florentyna gasped while bringing her hands to her cheeks.

“The Paladin—“ Elizabeta continued off.

“That saved us!?” Natalya covered her mouth in shock.

“…Professor Aryon,” Headmistress Radella had finished off her explanation with a smile brought to her face, “Who comes to us from the esteemed Academy of Paladins in the planet Malic.”

Whispers could be heard from the audience at the announcement of the news. No one had expected that there be new faculty joining that semester… Let alone, did Natalya, Elizabeta, or Florentyna think that this meeting would lead into it being the Paladin that had rescued them all the way in Shadow Haunt.

“His cloak looks familiar…” Tatyana’s brows furrowed when noticing the cloak in his hand. It took her a moment to process and try to figure out where it was from. So when it did, she gasped and looked at the group, “He must be the one who brought Natalya back! I recognize the cloak.”

Monika turned her head over to where Tatyana had been staring. While this new Professor seemed to have been giving his brief exchange of hellos to the students, her eyes widened upon recognizing the cloak as well, “It has to be. That is straight up the same cloak the guy from yesterday was wearing when he brought Natalya back to the suite.”

“…You’re saying this guy saved me twice?” Natalya paused for a moment with her eyes narrowed a bit. First at Shadow Haunt, when he explained that he arrived upon getting a call that the Princess was in danger. Then again, she had fallen unconscious outside of the tower, and needed help… Was that another calling again? “…Gosh…” She sighed, “Now I’m starting to believe it…”

“With this being said,” Radella cleared her throat and motioned to the man, “He will now show you all how to destroy the tower. If you may, Professor Ayron,”

“With pleasure, Headmistress,” The Professor gave a small nod of acknowledgment before approaching the dark tower. Looking up from his place on the sand, he examined it briefly before taking in a brief and holding out his hands. A bright light formed in the shape of a powerful orb, which had some of the fairies in the audience shielding their eyes from how strong the positive magic was. Within seconds, he began the enchantment with glowing eyes, “ _Latnus, strutegia, deframe, atilion!”_

He had been speaking an entirely different language that no one recognized. However, within seconds of the enchantment being said aloud, the powerful magic had flown directly from his hands and hit the tower with one hit.

In seconds, the dark tower that all the second-year students had fought against all day yesterday, had shattered.

The damage began with the large cracks on the top of the tower before the cracks began to increase down towards the bottom. Soon, parts of the tower had come crashing down to the water as it collapsed - being completely destroyed at that point.

Everyone was shocked in the audience. No words were said - everyone couldn’t believe that all it took was one hit of magic for it to send the tower tumbling down. Even for Natalya, when she had used her true powers - it wasn’t even enough to tackle it.

The Professor noticed the change of behavior in the audience. And so, he turned around with a smile before facing Radella, “May I?” He began as confirmation to speak, which he was granted by the older woman with a nod. Aryon nodded and took a step forward, “Good evening, ladies. You may be wondering how I managed to take down this horrible tower with one hit,” He explained, which indeed managed to catch all the attentions of the fairies present, “You see, you young students have yet to discover what I call your true, genuine power. As second years, you are expected by the end of your Spring semester to connect with your true self. It is a requirement in order to enter your third year. However, in addition to connecting with yourself, you will then have the abilities to grow and control your _own_ magical energy. How much energy you put into a spell and so on.”

“To better understand where your current level in training is,” Headmistress Radella had interrupted in further explanation, nodding in agreement with what the Professor had explained to the girls, “This tower didn’t appear out of no where. Professor Aryon had created these towers so he could observe your power from a distance. Yesterday was a test of examination to evaluate each of your skills.”

“What!?” Monika gasped aloud. No one had ever told her - let alone, mentioned to anyone that they were being examined in the first place. She shot her hand right up to ask a question, which was granted by the Headmistress motioning a hand to her to grant it, “Uhm, excuse me Headmistress. Since when are we not told about when we’re being examined or not?!”

“Because Professor Aryon wanted to see each and every student at their most vulnerable state of mind,” Headmistress Radella answered simply, not phased by the question at all. She expected that some people may not be happy, so this was proof of it, “No preparation. No studying. No training, in order to see who would be eligible to take his Master Workshop, that does cap per semester.”

Another hand was risen. This time, Mei had placed her hand right up where the Headmistress had motioned to her not to speak, “If this Master Workshop has a cap,” She began while lowering her hand, “How many people per semester can take it?”

“Only ten.” 

The response that had came from the Headmistress again resulted in shock to fill the audience. Normally the honor classes at Lenfia had a cap of 20 students, while the normal classes had a cap of 30. But there had never been a case of only ten people.

“This course will require great commitment to participate in,” The Headmistress explained, since she didn’t want to scare the students from wanting to take it, “Based on how you evaluated, if you averaged the top percent, you will be allowed to take it. Those who place over 10% will be taking the Honors Workshop with Professor Polonium so you all can receive the credits for the semester.”

“Indeed,” Professor Ayron nodded once more before snapping his fingers. From there, what looked like a binder had appeared in his hands where he had held onto it with a firm grip, “Your Headmistress has given great recommendations on who should participate in the class, however, I have made my final selections based on each score I gave you during your evaluations.”

A random fairy from the audience now had risen her head, “How were we graded in our scores, Professor?”

“Simple,” Professor Ayron smiled and opened up the binder, where it seemed to be where he had kept all his notes from tracking the fairies, “20% on physical strength, 20% on spell-casting, 20% on collaboration, and 40% on connectivity with your power. I did this by each attack you sent to the tower by absorbing a bit of your magic to analyze it.”

“You absorbed our magic?!” Monika and Elizabeta had blurted out in unison.

The grading set for the evaluation was not what anyone was expecting. Especially when it came to the terms of 40% being a huge portion of the final grade, the Master class that he was teaching would be one that required students to have had good consistency with their grades and progression with their powers. 

“Excuse me,” Tatyana rose her hand to ask a question, which caught the Headmistress and Professor’s attention, “Sorry to interrupt the explanation. But by any chance can we get further explanation of what this ‘genuine power’ means when it comes to connecting with one’s self?”

“Of course,” The Professor nodded and closed the binder after answering the previous question about the grading set, “You see, your genuine power is the power that connects to you and your family - so you can best understand your origins as a fairy. Especially if you plan on becoming a guardian fairy for your home planet. You can connect with your ancestors, learn how they used the magic you know now to help contribute to the development of the magical universe.”

It was a very interesting concept and explanation that no one didn’t really think of. However, there was one person in the audience whose expression had softened at the mentioning of genuine power.

Natalya’s eyes were widened. If this was true about how a genuine power connected to a family and ancestors… 

…Could this mean she may have a chance to better understand her family and her powers? Why her family and ancestors have been the ones to serve and protect the dragon flame and heart of ice for so long? It was a power that had to be protected at all costs. What she wanted to know was why her family was chosen, and how many descents have there been for it? 

Would she have to pass the powers someday?

She had no idea.

Her hand was raised now out of instinct while she was thinking to herself. After the Professor had answered the question, he had turned his head over to Natalya. Though just before he was about to speak, he paused for a moment upon recognizing her just as Headmistress Radella spoke up, “Yes, Natalya?” 

“…What if you don’t know a lot about your origins?” Was the question that had come from her. Everyone in the audience seemed to look directly at her. It was no secret that everyone knew _who_ she really was, but the fact of the matter was that she didn’t know anything about herself other than who her family was. She knew her family members names, she knew the Planet she was born on, she knew she was a Princess… But nothing more, “Is it still possible to take the course?”

The Professor stared at Natalya for a long moment. He immediately recognized her on the spot on who she was. The last child of the Braginsky family to be standing there as a student… The one that had to be rescued at Shadow Haunt… It was amusing to him that she had decided to ask such an intriguing question.

A question that he couldn’t help but to feel himself smirk at the thought of. Especially after gathering her results from the previous day, he had his reserved thoughts on the girl…

…especially since her information was being shared with more than just the Headmistress. 

“Yes.” He eventually answered with a smile to his face; the smirk hiding deep on the inside rather than the outside, “It may take some additional work, but I’m confident it’s possible. _Especially_ in your case, Natasha.”

Her heart froze the second she was called by her birth name. So he knew exactly who she was. It wasn’t hard to figure that out, which had Natalya nod in understanding, “Great,” She crossed her arms, “Any… Help with it, is appreciated.” She finished her statement before receiving a nod of approval from the Professor.

“Any further questions?” The Headmistress spoke out, not wanting to bring any more attention to the discussion at hand. After all, the concerns of her ancestors was something to be discussed in private - nothing more to said.

“Yes!” Another student rose a hand to catch Radella and the Professor’s attention, which they immediately acknowledged to by turning their heads over, “When do we find out if we’ve been selected in the class? Or our placement grades for the evaluations?”

“Well,” The Professor looked down at his wrist where there was a watch on it. Currently, it had been just around 5:55 PM, which had him look back up at the fairy, “If everyone is quick, outside of the dining hall, the postings of the ten selected students who have been chosen to take the class in addition to the second-year class postings should be posted in about…” He hummed, “Five minutes by one of the third-year TAs.”

The second this was said aloud, the audience had grown quiet. No one knew if they were able to be dismissed now, or they would have to wait for a few more announcements until they could go.

That one sentence was enough for Headmistress Radella to chuckle to herself. She could tell how eager all the girls were to go and see their results, and so, she cleared her throat, “With that being said,” She began, “You are all dismissed for the evening. I’ll see you all in tomorrow’s lecture in the morning.”

The confirmation that everyone was allowed to leave had students booking from the lake to get back to campus. Knowing that such a handsome Professor would not only be joining the faculty of Lenfia, but the fact that he had secretly ranked them in performance to determine whether or not they’d be joining his class was a whole other situation that students wanted to know.

Including specifically Monika, Florentyna, and Mei, who were a bit eager to go and were speed walking with the crowd while Natalya, Tatyana, and Elizabeta didn’t seem eager at all.

“Imagine taking such a difficult class with a hot Professor!” Florentyna could only imagine it as a twinkle shined in her eye in imagination and hope, “I’d be so set for the semester! Nothing more I ever needed was to get the college experience to be taught by something knowledgable and powerful!”

“Don’t forget hot,” Mei reminded the other with a small nudge to the shoulder, which had Florentyna blush, “Gosh, I told my dad once I’d never be interested in anyone because my culture back home is crazy with relationships, but I would _not_ be mad if I ever did a solo battle against that Paladin and got my ass beat. A happy ass beating I wouldn’t be mad about.”

“I don’t get why you all are so eager about this,” Elizabeta said simply. In her mind, she thought the whole thing was stupid. Sure, it would be very interesting and an accomplishment to get into the class… But for those who only wanted to take the class to have the chance to be with a good looking Professor - she didn’t get it, “I thought it was more about the education. Not about trying to fuck him,”

“I full-heartedly agree with that statement,” Tatyana nodded, not even hesitating since she didn’t understand why the other three were so excited, “Even if any of us don’t get into the class this semester, there’s always next semester,”  


“Which is why I think we should slow down a bit,” Natalya spoke out with a small yawn to her tone of voice. She’d be happy to get into the class - if she had to be honest - but she wasn’t eager to find out her results, “The results aren’t going to disappear. Plus, it’s going to be a bit crowded when we get to Lenfia.”

It was only a warning suggestion that Natalya was proposing to the group. If there were crowds of eager people pushing around to look at the results of something, it wasn’t a good case at all. It would be better to wait, stay back, and let the crowd clear out before they could go check.

Arriving to Lenfia after the next couple of minutes was enough to confirm the concerns about the crowd. In front of the dining hall, there had been a crowd of students lining up to see not only what their ranking was of the class, but which ten, in particular, managed to get into the Professor’s Master class. 

“See, I told you,” Natalya sighed and crossed her arms while standing in place; staring in amusement at how large the crowd was, “We should go get dinner and maybe after we eat it’ll be gone.”

“But I want to know now…” Florentyna pouted just the slightest. As she observed the situation at hand, she took a glance at the group before gasping and looking over, “How about this, I can try to sneak my way in and get a picture of the list, so we don’t have to go in as a crowd together—“

A hand was placed on Florentyna’s shoulder by Tatyana, who gave a small squeeze on it, “I don’t think that’s a good idea, sweetie.” She expressed in concern, “We can be patient. Don’t worry.”

That was the mutual agreement decided upon the group. That they would go get dinner first, and after they had ate, perhaps there would be a chance to approach the list to see what they scored.

The thing was though while passing the crowd to get to the entrance of the dining hall, loud talking could be heard for those who were in front of the crowd and got a chance to see the list.

_“I can’t believe she got number one!”_

_“And she got into the Master Class too!?”_

_“It makes sense. She’s a powerful fairy.”_

All of those statements managed to fill Natalya’s ears while she was silent and walking past the crowd to enter the building. But of course, the one thing she noticed was as she was walking, there seemed to be glares made right at her direction, which led to her confusion to arise. 

She stopped walking and turned to the crowd; her eyes narrowing a bit, “…You know what.” Natalya began and changed her direction from the entrance of the dining hall towards the crowd of students where the list was, “I want to see what’s going on now with how loud it is.”

“Natalya!” Florentyna gasped upon seeing the other beginning to walk off, thus changing her own direction to go after her, “Wait! If you’re going, I’m going now too!”

“Honestly…” Monika crossed her arms and followed, now rolling her eyes, “Couldn’t we have just decided on this sooner than wait to the last second when we’re about to enter the dining hall.”

The chattering in the crowd picked up more and more as the group walked over. Not only specifically in terms of Natalya making an appearance, but her friends as well, while they all pushed their way through the crowd. It was a lot of shuffling and tight squeezing through people, but eventually, Natalya and Florentyna were the ones to make it to the front first, followed by Monika and Tatyana, then Mei and Elizabeta who were just behind.

“What’s the big deal about this list…” Natalya sighed and looked up at it. It was a long list - after all, it was the entire second-year class and their rankings, “…Honestly, what if I don’t want my grade to be shared with everyone?”

“…Uh… Natalya?” Florentyna spoke up.

“I mean,” Natalya continued looking at the list; starting specifically from the bottom since she didn’t know how the rankings were, “What if you placed bottom? I wouldn’t want people to know that…”

Seeing that the other was beginning to talk to herself, Florentyna took it into her own hands after what she had noticed from the list. Grabbing onto the blonde’s head, she directed Natalya’s point of view towards the top of the list. “…Natalya!” She began, “Look!”

Having her head grabbed unexpectedly was one thing that Natalya didn’t expect to feel at all. All it took was that one gesture for her eyes to look up to be exposed to seeing what was right on top of the list. 

On the top of the list, it had each ranking listed. With each ranking, there was a checkmark as to who was accepted into the Master Workshop to better help with the training required to pass onto their final third year as fairies.

And what she saw was why she understood everyone had been chattering in the audience.

_Natalya Arlovskaya, Rank 1._

Followed by that, the list went on down with the rankings.

_Elizabeta Héderváry, Rank 2._

_Monika Beilschmidt, Rank 3._

_Xiao Mei, Rank 4._

_Florentyna Łukasiewicz, Rank 5._

_Tatyana Laurinaitis, Rank 6._

The list went on with the rest of the ten top students that would be participating in the class. 

Natalya’s jaw was dropped the second she had read all of the names. Even for when the rest of the group had arrived, everyone was shocked to the point where Monika was the one to blurt out, “Holy—“ 

“—Shit!” Elizabeta covered her mouth quickly noticing the results, “We all got into the class!? B-But, how!?”

“I have no clue!” Florentyna was squealing before she wrapped her arms around Natalya; pulling her into a tight hug while jumping up and down, “This is great!!! Natty, you got top one! Isn’t that amazing!? Plus, we all get to take the master class together!” 

“Elizabeta too,” Tatyana smiled and looked over at the brunette, who seemed to be equally as shocked as Natalya, “Especially for being a new fairy at Lenfia, it’s amazing you placed second.”

“I don’t even know how…” Elizabeta admitted before nervously reaching to rub her neck; blushing a bit, “But I’m not complaining. I’m mostly happy that we all got in and don’t get to miss out.”

“And with that hot Professor too?” Mei’s eyes were sparkling in admiration. This comment had been greeted with a small chuckle that came from Monika who rolled her eyes, “A Paladin, teaching us…”

This was true. One thing that many of the students admired was not only how powerful the Paladin was, but the fact that he had radiated such powerful energy, the class he was running _was_ one that no one wanted to miss out. For the ten that were selected to participate, it was a wonderful opportunity that couldn’t be passed up on.

An opportunity that would lead to a chance of growth. 

Natalya turned her head away from the list after a moment. Now that she knew her placement and ranking, she was determined to do well in this class.

Perhaps she would really be able to learn more about her birth family.

* * *

It was dark outside, just around 10:00 PM in the evening. All students had returned to their suites for the evening to either begin working on homework or preparing for bed before another long day of classes was to take place the next day. 

It was quiet, no sounds could be heard - the perfect night to watch the stars if any person wanted to.

Despite having classes the following day, that hadn’t stopped one particular person from going out.

Crawling out from his bedroom window, there had been a rope attached to a pole in his room where he usually did pull-ups on the door. The agreement that Alfred had made for himself was that he would go out for the evening and be back before his afternoon classes. 

That way, he could see in person what was going on at Lenfia. 

Gilbert had been standing in front of the window, keeping watch on the rope in case it broke. Alfred had been climbing down the rope slowly seeing that all the dorms were locked for the evening. No students were allowed to go out, but this was a one case emergency where he wanted to at least go to bed knowing that things were okay with Natalya.

Seeing that she hadn’t called after her seminar, he began to wonder if something had happened. Was she sick? Tired? Sad? 

All of the things that if she was experiencing, he _wanted_ to be there for her.

“You sure this is a good idea man?” Gilbert had called out to the other in a quiet tone so no one would hear them. He kept his hand placed on the rope while Alfred continued to climb down, which was about fifty feet away from the ground, “You’ll get your ass whooped by the Headmaster if you’re caught.”

A small chuckle managed to escape Alfred’s lips when he heard this. Once he had finished climbing down, he gave the rope a tug to signify the other that he was good to go and he could pull it up, “Nah,” He called back up quietly in a normal tone, “I’ve done this plenty of times before for Natalya. I just want to go check-up on her. I’ll be back in the morning…” He paused for a moment, “Oh, can you toss a few of my blankets and pillows down here from my bed?”

The request was off-putting. After Gilbert had pulled up the rope, he stared down at the man for a moment before nodding and turning around to retrieve the items. One by one, two pillows, two large blankets, _and_ a small box had all gone falling out of the window as Alfred caught it one by one. 

The blankets were folded up quickly with the two pillows placed on top of it. However, the small box managed to catch his attention as he stared at it for a moment and opened it up, “What the hell’s this?”

“Me saving your future,” Gilbert responded with his arms crossed; smirking in the process of it, “Thank me later.”

Saving his future?…

Alfred looked at the box and unwrapped it to examine what it was. Popping open the lid, that was when he realized exactly what it was.

Three packaged condoms in case of emergencies. Based on the name on top of it, he could tell right away that it was Gilbert’s. He laughed to himself and looked back up at his friend from the balcony, “You have these stocked up?”

“Hell yeah man,” Gilbert leaned forward a bit, “You don’t know the shit I do with those Lenfia fairies. They’re pretty wild if you ask me,” He smirked, “I’m waiting for my thank you.”

Part of Alfred wanted to make the comment of saying something jokingly like how the sizing of it could be ‘too small for his size’, but he bit his tongue back. Instead, the box was closed and slipped into his pocket before he picked up the blanket and pillows, “Yeah yeah, thanks man. I’ll be back tomorrow.”

“Have fun~”

The doors of the balcony were closed now, leaving Alfred by himself at the entrance of the dorms, All he had to do now was get to his motorcycle, which was close to the entrance of the school, and get out before anyone could see him.

Sneaking on UHB’s campus was very easy to do. There usually weren’t any guards seeing that most of the men were capable of taking on fights if creatures miraculously managed to get themselves onto the campus. However, he kept himself quiet to avoid any risk or chance of getting caught.

From the dorms, the main part of the entrance connected to it. He had walked towards the entrance of the main campus where he kept his head down low; walking silently with the pillows and blanket to the entrance. The entrance wasn’t far, but he did pick-up his pace out of fear with the mindset of potentially getting caught.

Fortunately for him, he did manage to get to the where all the bikes were parked. 

The bikes had been set up in the form of alphabetical order by last name. His eyes scanned through the lot quickly to locate the ‘J’s', which he knew exactly where it was. 

Upon noticing where the bike was, Alfred approached it and quickly placed the items that Gilbert had tossed to him into the trunk of it. He climbed onto it before reaching for a button on his equipment belt that he always wore. 

Pressing this one button, what looked like a tiny cylinder had appeared in his hands. All it took was a few seconds for it to grow in size, before soon, it revealed to have been a helmet. He put it on before turning on the bike with his thumbprint, now backing out of his space to ride out of the campus quickly to avoid any suspicion.

Lenfia was just about a ten-minute bike ride if he was quick enough. He had everything he needed in order to do what he was thinking. The best part about having a technology advanced motorbike was the fact that there was a drink dispenser for water. So if she was thirsty, they would be all set. 

The trunk of it also had some pre-packaged snacks that he had added earlier before the campus shut down for the night, so he was prepared.

The visit would be very unexpected. He figured that Natalya was busy and needed time to herself, but he couldn’t help it… The man was worried about her. Call it being in love he told himself. The fact of the matter was that if she was going through something in the first place, he wanted to take care of her and be by her side.

He knew she wouldn’t be annoyed at him. After all, he truly did want to see her since the last time they were together, technically it was after the mission at Shadow Haunt.

The first step of getting to her is sneaking onto Lenfia’s campus. The campus was protected by a magical barrier that went up after midnight. It was about an hour and half before then, so he’d be able to get there smoothly without any issue. 

The thing was, he also didn’t want to draw any attention to himself. After all, he was a student at UHB. No students from UHB really visited unless it was for the Headmaster of the college, or there was something similar going on such as the mission he went on with Natalya, Florentyna, and Elizabeta as support.

He planned to go through the back entrance of the school. That way he wouldn’t have to go through the main campus, and his bike wouldn’t be noticed by students who were maybe still awake this time at night. He didn’t know how the rules were at Lenfia, minus the fact that there was a curfew at 10 PM that all students weren’t allowed to go into the city of Magix. 

Alfred recognized the area as he got closer. Normally the trees were smaller in height, which was exactly what he had noticed. He switched the lights of his bike to low-beam so it wouldn’t appear as bright, though one thing he did notice that when approaching the back of the school, he noticed two raccoons in the middle of something he never thought he would see.

His eyes widened noticing one raccoon on top of the other.

It _was_ exactly what he was seeing.

That all he could think of doing was reaching for his phone before stopping mid-trail. He needed to show this to Gilbert and Natalya - the two would definitely get a laugh out of it. The best part was that the raccoons didn’t seem to notice him, thus, allowing for him to continue on his way to the second-year dormitories.

The dorms at Lenfia were very beautiful. While the ones at UHB were structurally well-built, the beautiful designs on the exterior of the building showed that it radiated a positive sense of magical energy. Alfred found himself admiring it upon approaching the dorms, which made him wish that after UHB had been destroyed the previous year from the descendants of the ancestral witches, the school could have at least incorporated a bit of artwork to make the school more lively.

The next part was figuring out which suite belonged to Natalya. Every bedroom was connected with one balcony - nothing more. The fortunate thing was that Natalya’s bedroom was the one with a balcony. But if he was going to figure it out, he couldn’t do it when it was on the ground. 

He stopped with his riding and pressed a button on the handle of his bike. The bike had went from having wheels, to being replaced with smaller jets to push him up into the air.

Was this technically being a creep? No, he wasn’t trying to spy on girls. He was just trying to find one room in particular. Nothing more than that.

The case was that inside the actual suite that Natalya lived in, everyone was fast asleep. Everyone had classes the next morning, they all had a long day - why bother with having to stay up if no one had homework to do? 

Including Natalya herself, she was fast asleep in her bed by the time what looked to be a pair of headlights from a bike flashed in her face. 

Outside of the room, it was easy for Alfred to find it. All he had to do was look for the numerous amount of plants growing from the balcony. He knew Tatyana was her roommate. With her being the fairy of nature, she was always working with different plants at all times.

The next part to this small mission was to now get her to come outside. He didn’t want to wake anyone up - especially Tatyana seeing that she was her roommate - so he had done the second best thing that came to his mind. He reached into the pocket of his jacket to pull out his phone before scrolling down to Natalya’s contact. With one tap of a button, dialing came from his end as he waited for her to pick-up.

Her phone going off unexpectedly was enough for Natalya to jolt from her sleep. She had been wearing a long-sleeve t-shirt, a pair of shorts, and had her hair pulled back into a messy bun when hearing the phone go off. She was so comfortable in bed, that she couldn’t even imagine who would be calling her at that time.

Natalya’s eyes peeked from underneath her blanket where she could hear her phone buzzing. The screen was bright now as the ringtone played, before soon enough, she reached for it to mute it for the sake of not watching up Tatyana. She had been just about to put it down…

…Until she noticed the caller ID.

Why was Alfred calling her this late?

Her brows furrowed just a bit. With a small yawn, she crawled back underneath her blankets and pressed the green button to answer the call. That was exactly what Alfred was hoping for as he smirked outside of the room, only to soon be greeted from his end the sound of a tired, “… _What?”_

“Hi sweetie.” Were the first words that managed to come from Alfred. The sweetie talk wasn’t buying her at all. Instead, Natalya already found herself slowly beginning to doze back off to sleep all until the next sentence that came out of the male’s mouth was heard, “…Could you do me a favor and go outside your balcony?”

The request was unexpected. Natalya blinked for a moment and stared at the phone. Was this really Alfred on the line, or was something pranking her? Go to her balcony this late at night when she could be all comfortable in her bed? “…Why? My bed’s warm… I’m sleepy, Alfred…”

“…much warmer than my arms wrapped around you?”

She paused mid-sentence the second she had heard this sentence. It was a fair deal to her, to say the least. That only seconds after it was said, Natalya had pushed the blankets off of her body and reached over for a sweater that was set out on her desk. The sweater was one of her older brother’s hand-me-downs, which while it was big in size for her, she wore it whenever she was cold.

The phone was in her hand as she wandered towards the balcony of her room. She was quiet, taking note of Tatyana who was fast asleep in her bed, before noticing that there were a pair of lights coming from outside.

“Huh?” Natalya whispered to herself before reaching for the handle of the door. With one twist, she opened the door of the balcony to be greeted to the sight of something she didn’t expect at all, “Alfred—“

There he was. He had been in front of the balcony, on his bike, midair. He had been wearing a helmet, looked dressed, and was staring right at her with the famous goofy grin that he always had when seeing her. The lens of the helmet was pushed up to reveal his face to her. 

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Natalya whispered out to the other and stepped outside. Based on her appearance, it was clear enough to the male that she was fast asleep until she got that wake-up call, “I told you the next time you were going to sneak here, at least give me a heads up—“

“Yeah, I know,” As the man said this, Alfred had reached towards his belt and pressed another button. Again, another sphere appeared in the palm of his hand before it had grown into a pink helmet in seconds, “But I knew you would say no before I even did it, honey.” He held the helmet out to her with a smile, now clearing his throat, “Dear Princess, I know you haven’t been answering me because you’re busy, but I miss you, so all I ask is if you join me for one evening with your Prince Charming. This… is technically me kidnapping you too, I guess if you want to put it to perspective.”

He was… Kidnapping her? Now she was amused.

Natalya stared at the man with her brows risen. She crossed her arms under her chest and looked at the helmet; not daring to touch it, “Is that your way of asking me on a date?”

“Sort of,” He answered truthfully before tossing the helmet to her now. The helmet was caught by her, which had her stare down at it for a moment, “But this is actually a kidnapping at the same time. The date part is a bonus.”

She chuckled at that. It was amusing to her… Knowing that there were a lot of enemies in that dimension who would want her because of who she really was through birth. Yet then there was Alfred, who casually made the trip over to Lenfia because he wanted to see her and calling it a kidnapping to get her attention, “Is that all you got?” Natalya responded, “I’m not convinced.”

“…Let’s see…” Alfred hummed in thought for a moment while gripping onto the handles of the bike, “I brought pillows, blankets, some snacks, water, and well… a lot of snuggling if you’re in the mood for it.”

Natalya paused on the spot, “…snuggling?”

“Yes ma'am.” He responded simply; the smirk on his lips growing bigger by the seconds, “With or without the affectionate part needed from your end because I’ll be the one providing most of it..”

That wasn’t a half-bad deal at all. She could either say yes to the offer, or go straight back to bed where she was all by herself for the entire night. 

The helmet was placed over her head now as she crawled over the ledge of the balcony. As she did so, Alfred had held his arms out to help her clip onto the back of the bike. She sat down, looking from where she was originally while her arms slowly wrapped around his waist. She rested her head against his back, closing her eyes and relaxing now. 

It felt so good to be with him again… After such an intense week, sneaking out like this was one thing that she knew she needed.

“That’s my girl…” Alfred chuckled to himself, waiting for a moment until she was fully set to go. Once she had her arms around him, he had pressed a button to lower themselves to the ground so he could turn on the headlights of his bike, “Hang on.”

When they were on the ground, he had turned on the lights and twisted the handle of his bike so they could get out of there quickly. The last thing he needed was for them to get caught after coming all that way to UHB to see her. Plus, even if they were to, he’d take all responsibility for the fact of being the one to convince her to come out when it was past their curfew.

He had an idea as to where he wanted to go. She had no idea, but while she held onto him on that ride, she took it as her moment of rest by closing her eyes and relaxing. After all, she was still exhausted from the day, but being this close to Alfred was ten times better compared to where she was asleep before.

The trip to where he wanted to take her was about another ten minutes away from Lenfia. It was closed by the lake near the college, but a good distance away so the couple wouldn’t get caught at all. 

The lake was misty when they had arrived. A bit foggy so it was hard to see it, but where they had parked was underneath a few trees where he was able to rest his bike against. Once climbing off, he had held out his hand to help the other off, which she did take with her own before standing up and removing the helmet that she wore.

From there, that was when she was exposed to what Alfred had brought. A few pillows and a blanket, which he had laid down on the ground for the both of them. 

She watched him in silence as he did this. The helmet that was in her hand was placed on top of the seat of the bike before she rose a brow and spoke; now speaking in a more clearer tone now that they weren’t near any sleeping students, “What are you doing?”

“Well, if you must ask your highness,” Alfred finished laying down the blanket. From there, he had reached back to the trunk of the bike where the second blanket was so in case she got cold, it was there. The pillows were placed down before soon, he held out his hand to her, “I figured if you’ve been tired after a long few day of classes, a beautiful maiden such as yourself should deserve the chance to having a relaxing evening gazing with her Prince, no?”

“Holy shit,” Natalya stared at him with her eyes narrowed, “You sound like a Prince in a fairytale. Is that something you learned from being royalty, your highness?”

“Nope,” Alfred smirked at the other, “But I thought it’d be funny because it sounds cheesy.”

He was surely right about that. That was the thing that she admired about him… He wasn’t afraid of being himself in front of her. In the past, she has had guys act all fake around her for the purpose of trying to mess with her. But Alfred was genuine. He was funny, carefree, and overall weird.

But she considered herself weird as well. Not the typical fairy that most would expect from Lenfia, with her fiery behavior and cold personality towards others unless they got to know her.

Maybe that was why they clicked. She was weird, he was weird, and that weirdness created an even bigger weirdness that she referred to as love. 

It was love in a good way, though.

Natalya reached over and took the other’s hand now. Slowly, Alfred had guided her down to the blanket where she had sat down beside him at first before resting her head against the pillow. She had to give him kudos - because for one thing, he really did choose the perfect night to go stargazing.

The stars were twinkling in the sky. Some of them were planets of the magic dimension, and sone of them were genuine stars that radiated with powerful energy. The cool misty feeling that came from the lake was a bonus addition to making the environment even more relaxing than it was. 

In this case, the best part about it was that as she laid down, he laid beside her as well and allowed for his arm to wrap around her. Alfred and removed his coat now that they were getting comfortable and stared up at the sky; smiling in the process of doing so.

He could tell that she was stressed. That was where he came in… He was her hero, so he had to continue fulfilling that duty for her. 

She let out a yawn a few times while laying there. It was comfortable. Very comfortable to the point where if she allowed her body to do so, she would have fallen asleep. But she didn’t want to take the chance at all as she turned to face the other after a moment of stargazing. Her head was resting against his arm, all while her hand was on top of his chest.

“…was your greatest desire to kidnap me this evening successful, Alfred?” Natalya spoke while gazing at the other who seemed to be focused on the sky.

Hearing the question had him hum softly to himself. Alfred kept an arm around her where he gently caressed her shoulders, all while his other hand played with her hand that was on his chest, “Mm… Very much so,” He answered truthfully before turning his head to look at the other. Underneath the moonlight, the glasses he wore shined just a bit, “Tell me something… What’s got you all stressed out all of the sudden, hm?”

Stressed out? She wouldn’t describe how she was feeling as stressed out. Quite the opposite with her position, which resulted in her sighing softly to herself before she turned her head away, “…Is that your way of calling me out for not answering you yesterday?”

“I guess,” Alfred chuckled and turned himself fully to face her. His hand reached over to touch her cheek, slowly caressing the skin which to her, made her feel very relaxed around him, “I was worried about you, you know…”

“…I’m sorry,” Were the only words that came out of her lips. She took responsibility for it, but she couldn’t stop what happened yesterday, “I was… Pissed. Not at you,” She looked at him in reassurance, “But… Yesterday, this giant dark tower appeared outside of Lenfia’s campus. The Headmistress had all second-year students try to destroy it, and when I went up against it, I couldn’t break it… I used all my magic, and nothing happened,” She explained in frustration before looking down, “I was fighting it for about three hours… To the point where I used up all of my magical energy and couldn’t do it… I even used my true powers… And then today, I came to find out that the dark tower was actually a test being administrated by one of the newest Professors at the school. I was tired, angry, frustrated… but in the end, this Professor explained why,” 

Listening to the other’s explanation, a small frown formed on Alfred’s lips. That was one thing that he admired about Natalya. She was a tough fighter. If any opponent she went against thought they could beat her, she’d come back ten times stronger. But the case was that she wasn’t able to do that against a test, which she rightfully felt terrible about, “Explained why?” He asked, “How so?”

“…This new Professor specializes in connecting to the true magic deep within yourself,” Natalya explained while looking up at the other. She leaned her face into his touches; still relaxing to the point where she wouldn’t even complain if she fell asleep there in his arms, “So it made me begin to wonder… Through this exam, and getting the chance to take one of his classes… Will I be able to learn more about my power’s origins by connecting to my true self?”

“…Your origins?” Alfred rose a brow in confusion, “In terms of your birth family?”  


“Yeah…” Natalya sighed and looked up at the other, “I know who I am… My name is Natasha Braginskaya, the youngest daughter of Viktor and Alyona. But, what I want to know is _how_ my parents were associated with the dragon flame and heart of ice. It’s all based on generation - my mother protected it, my grandmother protected it, my great-grandmother… What led for the gods of the magical dimension to choose _them_ \- _our_ bloodline - to continue to carry this mission of keeping it safe.”

Alfred was blown away. He didn’t even know how to answer that question to the point where he pulled his hand back to reach for her own; squeezing it gently with his fingers, “That’s really deep, Natalya,” He admitted, clearly amazed but also shocked that she was thinking from such an outside perspective, “Connecting to your true self… Damn, makes me wonder what my true self is.”

“Oh, that’s easy.”

He went silent when hearing this. Alfred slowly pushed himself up to where he was hovering over her; looking down at the girl who laid underneath him, “…What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Just as I said it,” Natalya looked up at him. She swore the second he hovered over her, she could feel her heartbeat beginning to pick-up in a faster pace. But she kept herself calm as she smiled up at him innocently, but behind it, was a smirk, “I can read people’s auras… And one thing I can tell about your true self is that you have a caring heart.” She explained, which had Alfred stay silent as he listened, “A true heart… Genuine and charismatic. You care for others - even those you don’t know, and are willing to take your life for a stranger you see in need… You’re weird on the outside, but on the inside, that’s how you are… and why I think you’ll make a great King in the future when the time comes because even if you say you don’t like being royalty, doesn’t deny the love you have for your Kingdom.”

Those words had Alfred shocked. He truly didn’t know what to say to her other than silently sitting back down on the blanket. It was really amazing how she knew all these things with just her powers. If it was true what she was saying about reading auras, she read his right then and there. 

Alfred reached down and pulled her up from the blanket. To her dismay, Natalya hadn’t been expecting it at all, but what came next just made it more unexpected when he wrapped his arms around her to bring her into a close embrace.

She was sitting in his lap now. All to himself, where he held onto her tight. His chin rested on the top of her head, all while he closed his eyes in thought to process the information he was given.

“…You’re really amazing Natalya…” Alfred whispered underneath his breath. With his hand, he had used two fingers to slowly lift her chin to get her to look at him. He leaned forward to press his forehead against hers to establish that eye contact with those violet-blue orbs of hers, “And I mean it. You say you’re cold and mean, but how can someone so mean say such… meaningful things like that?”

He had a point. Even she didn’t know how to respond, since she felt as though she was only prioritizing the fact that her powers were capable of telling her such things. Reading auras was something she had discovered when she had returned to Earth a year ago during her winter break. 

She could read the emotions of human beings. Their thoughts, their feelings, as well as what they may have been thinking if she so desired. For Alfred, all she had to do was look at his eyes, and she could tell then and there that everything he did was with meaning.

“Hearing that… makes me fall in love with you over and over again,” Alfred leaned forward now while speaking in a whisper. His lips at this point where grazing over hers while she sat there in his lap. He was still holding her close, to the point where she felt herself going weak from his touches, “It makes me… The happiest man alive.”

Slowly, his lips pressed against hers.

The kiss was something unexpected from Natalya’s end. But alas, she could feel her heart beginning to beat out of her chest the longer she sat there in his lap. It got to the point where she instinctively returned the gesture by pressing her lips against his own before her arms slowly shifted to wrap around his shoulders and bring him close.

Under the moonlight, it was a beautiful scene.

One where that every so often, the couple had parted from their kiss briefly to take in a breath. After a second, the two had returned to the same gesture, only for this time Alfred to allow himself to slowly slip his tongue in between those small lips of hers.

Her eyes rolled to the back of her head as they were closed. Sitting there alone in the silence of the lake and environment was very relaxing to her. Even when feeling the taste of his lips creep to her tongue, Natalya returned the gesture equally where she pressed and rubbed her tongue along his.

The longer the exchange took place, the more heat in the moment that it managed to spark.

Alfred’s hands slowly lowered themselves down to her hips. Specifically, to grab onto them for a moment while his mouth was occupied providing the needed pleasure that she seemed to be eager for. It hadn’t been long since they were last this intimate with one another… Maybe three weeks?

Regardless of the fact, it was clear that the couple needed the time alone together. Especially Natalya, who longed for that touch from her beloved. 

His hands slowly snaked past her hips to reach down the elastic waistband of the pajama shorts she had been wearing. This time, directly underneath the fabric of her panties. Both of his hand had managed to grasp onto each cheek of her rear, where he squeezed tightly; holding onto it all while an inaudible moan managed to creep up her throat.

It got to the point where now even Natalya found herself pulling her hands back from his shoulders to lower them down to his lips. Fortunately enough for her after doing this a few times with him already, it wasn’t hard for the girl to locate the lock to the belt he wore that carried his equipment. All it needed was a thumbprint - which for their case, Alfred had her fingerprint scanned onto all his belongings.

One press against the scanner of the belt, and immediately, it unlocked.

The belt was placed beside the two of them now which allowed for her to officially go for the zipper of his belt. All in the meantime, Alfred had pulled back from the kiss where he had pressed his face into the nape of her neck. He took in the familiar scent that belonged to her… It was so addicting that just one sniff of it got him off.

A scent that he wished he could bring back to his Kingdom if she was only a third-year. 

His belt being loosened didn’t help with the problem around his crotch either. The fact that he got to feel her like this after so long, it made him aroused. Aroused to the point where as the seconds progressed, the bulge was beginning to grow more and more in size, that he couldn’t help it.

It got to the point where he had slowly pulled his hands out of her panties now. Instead, he pulled his head back from his neck and held onto her; slowly guiding her back down onto the blanket bed that he had laid out on the grass. 

He was on top of her now. Natalya, who laid there with her cheeks bright and red from the heat of the moment found herself paralyzed the second the male had reached over with one hand to pull off the shirt he was wearing. That was enough for her to feel goosebumps form along her skin. Seeing those pecs, the abs - she felt like she was melting on the spot.

Heroes at UHB had to be very strong and physically athletic to fight… 

…Just seeing his body was a clear reminder of how addicted she was to him.

The entire time, Alfred had the same goofy smirk that he always had around her. He loved teasing her whenever he had the chance, but for now, seeing how shocked she was lying underneath him was enough for him to continue. In this case, finishing off where he had last started with those pajama shorts and panties.

Both articles of clothing were reached for by him. His hands grabbed onto the elastic waist-band of it before slowly, he pulled the clothing down to her ankles to reveal the one spot he wanted to see in between her legs. They were placed beside his belt and shirt, before he now helped her out of the sweater and top she wore earlier.

She didn’t stop him at all. At that point, Natalya had lifted her arms up as the sweater was firstly pulled off, followed by the large shirt she had worn to go to bed in. She hadn’t been wearing a bra since originally she was asleep, thus the second the male had removed her shirt, came with the exposure of the two large mounds to be released into the air.

If they got caught, it would be game over entirely for the both of them. 

But no one was around. They were hidden behind trees at an abandoned lake - all should be fine.

The entire time she laid there, completely bare naked to him, Alfred swore he could feel himself drool just a bit. There was something about seeing your lover in the position that she was in that he didn’t know what to say or do. All that had kicked in were his natural instincts, to the point where he slowly leaned himself forward to allow his mouth to lock onto one of the mounds on her chest.

Natalya moaned softly the second the heat of his tongue lapped and flicked against her pink nipple on the mound. She was extremely sensitive in the area, to the point where all she could do was find herself grip onto his hair tightly and tug. 

Alfred liked to see this, which had him continue more and more. Something about seeing her - the one who always loved to pin him against the bed with his dick in her mouth, be so vulnerable to him at the moment… It excited him. Finally, for once, the strong-willed woman that he loved dearly could get taught a proper lesson on domination.

Perhaps the key was that she had to be tired in order to get it to happen. She was tired but based on her behavior, it was clear on what she wanted.

His mouth pulled back from her breast to look directly into her eyes. Her cheeks were bright red as she went quiet the second he pulled back, but he wasn’t done. Instead, he pressed his face into her neck; kissing along the skin before whispering lowly, “…Natalya… you look so cute like this… I love knowing that I’m the only one who can get you like this.”

These words had her eyes widen now. Not at the part of being cute - but the _get you like this._

Her reaction was exactly what Alfred was planning for. Seeing that within seconds of saying these words, his fingers had already slowly slipped in between her legs. Slipping his fingers in between the wet folds of her lips, he discovered how wet she already had been before prodding against the small, sensitive pink nub that would get any woman off.

And for Natalya, it certainly did.

What sounded like a pleasured moan managed to creep up her throat. As the noise was made, Alfred had once again pressed his lips against her neck where he slowly began to bite down on the skin and sucked. Not just on one area, but on three areas of her neck to make sure his marking was visible and clear to those who may notice.

All at the same time, one finger had slowly pressed its way into her cavern.

He thrust slowly at first. Only to give her a bit of preparation as Natalya trembled in sensitivity from the gesture. He kept her down as he did so, only to soon enough add a second finger… Then a third finger to stretch her just a bit.

She was lost at that point. Natalya’s fingers had pressed into Alfred’s back; to the point where she felt her nails beginning to claw and scratch at his back out of frustration the more he thrust his fingers into her. It was at an unbearably slow pace, but he went slow for the sake of not hurting her.

Either way, he kept at it for a minute or so just to hear those noises come out of her mouth. The noises got him off real easy, to the point where when he had pulled out to reveal the wet mess that was present; his wood was stiff as a rock in between his boxers.

Natalya laid there with her eyes closed. She panted heavily; trying to regain herself to better understand the position that she was in. However, by the time she had opened her eyes, already Alfred had been hovering over her once again with his pulsing member out in thin air.

One hand had been wrapped around the length while he slowly stroked it in front of her. She felt so weak, so tired from her long day… But the fact of the matter was that seeing Alfred looking down at her with that devilish smirk of his, that pulsating cock hovering over her moist lips…

…Was it bad that she found herself having the eagerness of being fucked right then and there?

It was exactly how Alfred felt as well and what he wanted. However, he wasn’t an idiot as one may imagine.

The box that Gilbert had given him was still there. He reached to the pocket of his pants where he had opened up the box to take out one of the packages. Ripping it open with his teeth, the rubber was slid down the length of his cock. He knew he was joking earlier in his mind about Gilbert’s condoms probably being ‘too small’, but the reality was that the man came prepared.

After all, only Gilbert knew where to stock up on triple X sized condoms.

Alfred tossed the empty package away when he was all set. He hovered himself over the girl once more and leaned down to press a small peck against her lips, which she had graciously returned the gesture with no hesitation. Once he pulled back, he whispered against her lips, “…you know I love you, right?”

Small pants escaped from the back of Natalya’s throat. She kept herself calm in the situation as she nodded slowly and leaned into his touch once more when Alfred had cupped her cheek, “I love you too, Alfred…”

“Good…” His thumb slowly caressed the skin on her face. The same smile was on his face, but he only said this as a distraction as his other hand had already begun to guide his manhood towards her moist lips.

He placed the tip against her folds at first; rubbing slowly to give the other a moment of adjustment. Natalya could feel the tip press inside her folds, but not fully in as she braced herself for the feeling of pressure that was to come. He gave her time, but once he could tell she was ready, that was when he slowly pushed in.

What felt like something filling her resulted in a loud, pleasured cry to erupt from the woman. Natalya was still as she laid there, all while Alfred had his face once more pressed into her neck. Both of his hands now were occupied, with one hand holding onto her hip while the other was slowly guiding his length into her.

He was gentle. Gentle with her since he didn’t want to be sudden. All it took was a few seconds, but before the couple had noticed it, the entirety of his length had been fully pushed inside her.

It was tight and throbbing. Natalya could feel her walls violently throbbing around Alfred’s length to the point where she laid there with her legs wide open; unable to move. It was as if having dick inside her really did restrain her, to the point where all she could do was grip onto the blanket when the first movements were made.

He moved his hips slow at first. As he did so, Alfred kept his face hidden while he thrust his hips back and forth. Despite being slow, they were rough thrusts. Rough to the point that anytime he pushed in, he had made sure to go a bit harder knowing that it made the woman go crazy.

Crazy was an understatement for how she was feeling. The desired pleasure of wanting to be filled by him was there - the roughness that came with the thrusts was just an added on bonus. However, one thing that definitely became more interesting was when Alfred had pulled his head back from her neck to rest his forehead against hers.

It was at this point too that Natalya had reached over to remove his glasses. The glasses were placed down beside her body. That way, at least she could look into his eyes when he picked up his thrusts.

His thrusts were fast. Each one had the girl struggling to hold back her moans out of fear from getting caught. But instead of allowing her to do such, Alfred had leaned forward and pressed his lips against her own in a deep, slow kiss. It was enough of a distraction to calm her noises, but it didn’t neglect the fact of how fast he was going at the moment.

Her walls were throbbing violently at that point. With each thrust, she swore she could feel his balls slam right against her walls in a dominating manner - as if he was trying to fill her with as much as him as he could at the moment. 

To even emphasize this, after a certain moment, it was proven by him lifting her up.

She was sitting in his lap now just like before. This time, he was fully inside her to the point where all Natalya could do was wrap her arms around him while hiding her face in his neck. Her breasts were pressed against his chest, all while Alfred had placed his hands against the cheeks of her rear to hold onto with a firm grip. 

His hands guided her up and down now. The entire time, the moans that came from her could be only heard by him. Even on the occasion when he had managed to reach the deepest part of her womb, he found himself moaning in sensitivity.

He could only imagine filling it with his seed. A thought that made him want to cry out in pleasure then and there, but one that he knew would be for another time in the future.

“I love you, Princess… I love you so much…” Alfred’s spoke in a low, deep tone of voice while keeping her close. His hands maintained its grip on her rear while guiding her faster and faster, to the point where he could feel her walls tightening around him.

There was a reason they were tightening. She was close. She didn’t know how or went to admit it, but based on how much louder her cries of pleasure had became, it was close that Natalya felt herself close to reaching a climax, “I-I love you too, Alfred…!” She groaned out while her fingers once again had made contact with the skin on his back that was already scratched up, “I-I’m close, fuck-!”

That was enough confirmation that the man needed then and there.

All of a sudden, he had laid her right back down again. From the position that they were once in where she was sitting in his lap, had now left her in a vulnerable state underneath him. To get things into perspective, Alfred had gripped onto her hips now and had began to thrust himself at a violently fast pace.

A pace that she didn’t expect at all to come from the other. But after saying those words of being close, Alfred was determined to get her to cum.

The sounds of wetness could be heard with each slam that went against her crotch. Alfred was panting underneath his breath while maintaining his grip on her thighs. He loved her so much… So much to the point where he wanted to remind her that she was his.

No one else.

And he was giving his all to her.

Natalya didn’t know what to do at that point. The pleasure was beginning to build-up more and more in her abdomen, to the point where all it took was one thrust against that g-spot against her womb…

…to get her to reach that orgasm.

Natalya’s mouth was open wide as a loud moan erupted from her. Her back arched when it had happened, before in seconds, what looked to be an oozing amount of white, creamy substance had began to drip from between her folds. 

For even Alfred, her orgasm was enough for him to bust as well.

He hovered on top of her as he stayed still now. He had slowed down all movements as he attempted to catch his breath. His chest was rising up and down at a fast pace, all while his hips continued to move slowly. His balls had become so full and swollen in seed, that her orgasm was enough for him to reach a relieving orgasm himself.

All of his seed; a creamy, heavy load, all filling the condom that was wrapped around his prick to protect her from a future that they weren’t ready for yet.

He held himself there as his climax came to an end. Especially in the matters of Natalya, who had been laying there stiff and panting heavily from her own unexpected climax. 

The couple was silent for a moment or so to catch their breaths. 

It was once the two were calmed down from their high that Alfred had pulled himself out to acknowledge the mess that was around her lips. It was cum alright. Not his, but hers was enough of an acknowledgment that he managed to do it right for her. 

To give her that relieving pleasure that she needed to let out after dealing with so many days of stress.

He gave her a moment to catch her breath. All in the meantime, he had removed the rubber that was around his dick to tie up and toss away to be disposed of properly.

For now, he laid right on top of her after it was taken care of. His arms were wrapped around her body while he held her close; kissing her cheek as she forced with the little amount of energy she had to turn and press her face into his chest.

Natalya was in absolute bliss. The last time she had gotten a good fucking from him was before the school year had started when he had invited her to his Kingdom for a few days…

…The thing was that having sex outdoors than in a royal bedroom with a King-sized bed was ten times better than she thought it would. 

Alfred’s fingers slowly ran through her hair in comfort of the moment. The two were in love. Pure bliss and happiness all existed in the environment, to the point where the blanket that he had brought before was used to cover their bodies to prevent themselves from getting cold of the cool mist that came from the lake.

His bright blue eyes looked down at the other. She was beautiful in his eyes… The only thing he wanted to see when he woke up. He wished he could see it every day, but he would suffice for now with the simple phone call in the morning when she wasn’t busy.

A kiss was placed against her forehead now as they laid there. He didn’t want to let her go, all while Natalya didn’t want for him to let him go of her either.

“…hey…” Alfred took in a breath while staring up towards the sky. The sky was just as beautiful as her with the stars twinkling above them, “…you know how you said my desire was to kidnap you tonight?”

The question was off-putting for a second. However, Natalya acknowledged it as she looked over at the male with a brow raised, all while a chuckle erupted from in between her lips, “Mm… what about it?”

“You were wrong.”  


Her expression softened. She was wrong? 

It was different in Alfred’s mind. He looked down at her and leaned forward to bring his face up-close to hers. His eyes the entire time stared into hers, all while he continued to take in soft breaths to calm himself, “…My greatest desire, Natalya…” He whispered, “…Is to have you belong to me forever… and I hope to make it true one day.”

His lips were pressed against hers once again. The gesture was welcomed by Natalya, where she had returned it by slowly reaching over to run her fingers through his hair affectionately. After a moment when the kiss parted, she smiled at him with a small smirk to her lips, “I’ll always be yours, Alfred…

…no matter what.”

* * *

The campus grounds at Lenfia had been silent. With it being just around midnight, all students were asleep in preparation for another round of classes to take place the following day. 

However, there was one administrator who had been wide awake.

The Headmistress walked along the dark hallways of Lenfia. In her hand, she had been holding a power orb to provide a source of light, that way she was able to see where she was going. It was very silent in the school, which meant it was the perfect time to do what she needed to do.

Turning one corner of the hallway, she found herself in a place surrounded by mirrors. If she were to step in front of the mirrors, there would be no reflection. This part of the school was one that only certain beings had access to - she being one of them. 

No students, but only certain faculty. There may have been a case in the past where a student did wander down these halls, but she imagined none of them would be able to figure out the invisible door that was hidden at the end of the hallway.

Radella paused in her footsteps when arriving at the dead-end of the hallway. In front of her, it was a simple, plain wall. Nothing more than that.

But bringing the orb that she had in her hand closer to it, it was enough to serve as a key to grasp onto an invisible handle to twist open and walk inside. 

Inside the room, there had been two other administrators, as well as a Pixie present in the room. 

The door was closed behind her when she had stepped in. Inside, the room had been dimly lit, but not bright enough to make it obvious that there were people still awake in the building. 

The two administrators and Pixie looked over at the Headmistress when she had entered. These administrators in particular, being Headmistress Evanora of the Tower of the Dead, as well as Headmaster Elijah from the University of Heroics and Bravery. In front of them, had been a Pixie with her hair pulled back into a bun while she wore a beautiful gown and glitter along her cheeks. She served primarily as one of the leaders of the village that belonged to Pixies.

“Thank you all for coming in this evening,” Were the first words that came from Radella when approaching the table. From there, she had taken a seat where in front of her, there had been a small pouch in front of her, “I’m glad to have see you made it all here safely. The reason why I asked for this meeting is because… I’m a bit concerned.”

“…Does the Magix council know of this, Radella?” Evanora had asked with her brows narrowed. She leaned forward, looking up at the other older woman with a serious glare brought to her expression, “This gathering?”

“Yes,” Radella sighed and looked down at the pouch. She held onto it with a firm grip before turning to face the other magical being; a serious expression of her own brought to her face, “They are aware of what is going on. I especially was hoping that you would show up because I want to ask you about the Dark Lord your witches covens worship to.”

A moment of silence came from Evanora when she heard this. She paused for a moment, unsure of why the fairy wanted to know such a thing. Fairies didn’t follow dark magic - why all of a sudden did Radella have an interest in it? “Well,” She sighed, “It’s as you said. He is the lord of all dark magic in the dimension. They serve to him as his children to bring destruction, but it varies per witch and warlock coven…” As she explained this, she sat back a bit in her seat in thought, “The Dark Lord was once a warlock noble by the name of Lord Demande, who traveled down to Shadow Haunt for his thesis. Eventually, the dark energy of that world had caught up to him, and he had changed entirely from an ordinary magical being, but to a demon, with the intentions of rising dark magic over positive magic. He believes that there should never be a balance of positive and dark… Just darkness.”

The explanation made sense for Radella. She hadn’t known much about the Dark Lord that resided in Shadow Haunt, but the information was enough for her to conclude that there was something going on, “This Dark Lord has intentions of doing something, and I fear it may not be for good reasons,”

“If I may, Radella,” The Pixie spoke up. This Pixie, by the name of Penelope, flew up from her spot to make direct eye contact with the fairy, “The pixies that were rescued by your students came to me in great concern after you expressed that all Pixies evacuate from our village. They explained to me that the Dark Lord had demanded to know where our village was - but we don’t know what for. We have nothing hidden…” She paused and looked down for a moment, “…other than the codex that was entrusted by King Viktor twenty years ago.”

Radella’s expression softened when she heard this. The codex… It was a powerful element of power that had been secured safely in the world of Magix. No one had known for its existence, other than for those of the Company of Light, where the former King had asked for them to protect it at all costs.

Hide it. Make sure that no one is to ever know of its existence, as the Codex was the key of unlocking the door to all powers in the magic dimension. Time could be effected, powers could be loss - it was something that no being should ever dare to touch.

“The Dark Lord may be seeking to enter the portal of the Relix,” Headmaster Elijah looked over at the Pixie when hearing the mentioning of the Codex, “If all four pieces of the Codex is found would allow for him to enter the time and space portal. I don’t know what magical energy it takes to unlock the portal with the Codex, but all I remember is that the King’s demands were that they never were put together... which is why I’m concerned, especially after the ministry of Magix reached out in that letter in regards to Relix.”

That was all the details they all knew. The existence of the Codex _was_ real, but it was left for the former rulers of the magic dimension to keep it safe. If someone were to discover its existence and go after it, the planet of Sparx would have been in great danger. It was why King Viktor had made the ultimate decision to entrust the former members of the Company of Light to hide each pieces in a secure area that no one could ever find it.

“Only our schools and the village secure the Codex,” Radella reached into the small pouch that was in front of her, “Only I know where the Codex is in Lenfia, and I entrust that none of us ever share where we each have hidden it in our own schools.”

Only the Heads of the schools knew where each piece of the Codex was hidden. While there were four parts of the Codex, each person in the room knew where each one was. No one had known where the other piece of it was. That was how Viktor had wanted it - for others to never know of its existence with the intention of making sure that no one possibly had the idea of obtaining it.

“However, in addition to the Codex, there is one other way to enter the Realm of Relix,” Radella began, before soon pouring out the contents of the small pouch she had brought. This managed to get Evanora, Elijah, and Penelope to look over at the pieces with shock brought to their expressions, “In cases of emergency… Alyona had entrusted me to protect this. The Dark Lord must _never_ learn of this. If there were to ever be a chance of someone finding the Codex and opening the portal, these keys would allow for the Company of Light to enter the portal as well to stop whoever accessed it.”

On the table, four gems were laid out. One gem had been blue with a gold engraving along its edges. Another had been a maroon color with a silver box protecting it. The third had been an orange gem with a pointer, round end, while the last one had been in the shape of a moon with red engravings decorated inside it.

“This must remain a secret at all costs.” Radella looked at the group with a serious expression still on her face, “Not even the Magix council knows of it…. And Alyona told me that _none_ of her family, including her children, must know of it…

_…especially Natasha.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did mention last chapter that this upcoming chapter was going to be veryyyyy 18+.
> 
> It was time for some AmeBel moments. After all, while this is part 2 of the story, there is a LOT going to happen in the future with this story when it comes to Alfred and Natalya's relationship.
> 
> Also - Surprise! I'm uploading the chapter two days early due to actually going away for a few days. I wanted to get it up now so that way, I don't forget - plus, you all can get a treat.
> 
> Next chapter, chapter 5, will be posted on 09/03/2020.  
> Edit: Sorry for the delays! I am in graduate school and classes picked up again, so I've been terribly busy. Been working on the chapter during my free time whenever I can. Thanks for the patience and support! <3
> 
> Until then, enjoy and see you soon! c:


	6. The Crypt of the Codex

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “However, in addition to the Codex, there is one other way to enter the Realm of Relix,” Radella began, before soon pouring out the contents of the small pouch she had brought. This managed to get Evanora, Elijah, and Penelope to look over at the pieces with shock brought to their expressions, “In cases of emergency… Alyona had entrusted me to protect this. The Dark Lord must never learn of this. If there were to ever be a chance of someone finding the Codex and opening the portal, these keys would allow for the Company of Light to enter the portal as well to stop whoever accessed it.”
> 
> On the table, four gems were laid out. One gem had been blue with a gold engraving along its edges. Another had been a maroon color with a silver box protecting it. The third had been an orange gem with a pointer, round end, while the last one had been in the shape of a moon with red engravings decorated inside it.
> 
> “This must remain a secret at all costs.” Radella looked at the group with a serious expression still on her face, “Not even the Magix council knows of it…. And Alyona told me that none of her family, including her children, must know of it…
> 
> …especially Natasha.”

_A bright light cast throughout the room. In front of her, what looked to be a body of water floating in front of her. There was no source as to where it was coming from, leaving Natalya to be standing there in place lost at what she was looking at._

_With her hand risen, she brought it close to the body of water. Would it do something bad if she were to touch it? She figured that if there was going to be any answers, the best way was to mess with the environment and see what would happen._

_Her finger reached and touched the water. A small wave had formed as a result of the poke she gave against the surface of the water, but it was enough for something to come out from behind her._

_A sound. It was a loud sound of a crying baby._

_The baby wailed in the air as the blonde tensed up on the spot. Turning around, she saw nothing other than the body of water suddenly appearing from behind her. The crying of the baby became louder and louder before soon, her entire body was engulfed by it._

_Natalya panicked at first. She felt herself drowning at first, but suddenly, she stopped and felt herself relax from instinct. The locket around her neck that she had worn since she was a baby glew with power, resulting in the water to burst away from her, allowing for her to breathe._

_She coughed for a moment the second the water disappeared. Though in the midst of her breathing, she heard a male voice._

_“With this locket, it will keep her protected at all costs. We shall name her Natasha, as she was born under our Lord from the dragon flame and heart of ice.”_

_Who’s voice was that? She swore she had recognized it as she looked around in a panic, before noticing that the light around her began to build-up. Was it her father? The first time she was hearing his voice?_

_She never had gotten to know him… But it made her wonder if her powers were reminiscing a time when she did hear it in person._

_She winced at first and brought her hands up to her eyes to shield it, which by the time she had opened her eyes from the light dying down, she wasn’t standing up._

_Instead, she was laying down. Laying in a cradle with her point of view being directly up while all she could hear was more loud crying._

_“Papa!” A girl’s voice could be heard as she looked down towards where Natalya had been laying. Natalya couldn’t see nor tell anything, other than make out a shadow of what looked to be a little girl, “The baby’s awake!”_

_“She’s going to keep crying if you don’t keep it down, Katya!” A little boy had peaked his head from the corner and looked down at the cradle, “Shh!”_

_“It’s okay,”_

_The new voice was one that Natalya immediately recognized on the spot. Footsteps could be heard before a pair of arms began to reach into the cradle, the familiar face that belonged to her mother the only one she could recognize._

_Alyona was very young when her image came into focus. She had been wearing a crown, her long, blonde hair had been pulled into a low bun with braids while she had been wearing a beautiful, white gown. Her bright blue eyes looked down at the cradle when reaching for the infant._

_“Don’t cry, my dear Natasha… Mama and papa are here.”_

* * *

A loud gasp came from the girl as she shot up from her bed. It had been a panicked scream with a mixture of the gasp before she clutched onto her chest. Sweat had been covering her forehead, which all it took was for her to wipe away with the back of her hand before she looked around the room.

Everything was dark. Across from her, she could see Tatyana who was fast asleep in bed, not even noticing that the other fairy had woken up from a sudden dream. 

Natalya could hear crickets going off from outside as the stars twinkled in the night sky. It had been just around 3 am in the morning - a few days after the incident with the Dark Tower. 

Since then, the second-years who had participated in the training activity have been weary for any future cases that may have been hosted by the headmistress. But for now, life at Lenfia returned to the same with routines being followed with fall schedules. 

The next morning was to be another normal day of the fall semester. Classes all day, homework, studying, and feeling exhausted by the end of it all after all the training her Professors put her and her friends through.

Despite being exhausted, the one night alone with Alfred was enough to serve as an energy premise for keeping her sane.

That night at the lake… It had been a few days since that date. It was an amazing time. The one thing that she needed after a stressful few days was to spend time alone with him. The couple had spent the entire night together just sleeping underneath the stars. One of her biggest worries was getting caught by media if someone had seen them riding off…

…After all, he and she were technically royalty.

But to her shock, that wasn’t the case at all. They weren’t caught, Alfred brought her back before 7 am the next morning, and no one had questioned it. Even her friends, who didn’t seem phased at all to see her eating breakfast so early in the morning that day.

Her heart was in a positive mindset. However, the dream that she had startled herself awake to had put her into a position of confusion and frustration. 

The last time she had a dream about her family was back over the summer. Since awakening as the Princess back during her flight with Gelinda, it felt that her powers had evolved. While the proof wasn’t physical, it was all in her mind. She had been having dreams about her past that she didn’t even know she could remember.

Hearing her parents' voice, her siblings' voice… All while she was just a little baby. Nothing she could say or do other than watch as the scenes took place.

Her last dream was seeing her mother with a swollen abdomen - indicating the flashback she was having was a scene when she was pregnant with her. It was a weird dream to Natalya, but what pained her to see was how happy and excited her family was for her welcome.

Now, her dreams had transitioned into a time after she was born and her life was only beginning as a Princess.

Her hands turned into small fists as she sat there in her bed. Before she even had a chance to realize it, tears had begun welling up in her eyes.

She _hated_ crying. 

But it didn’t mean she _didn’t_ do it.

Only alone in certain cases. Especially since Tatyana was fast asleep, her body simply reacted to the dream as any human with emotions would. 

Natalya brought a hand up to her eyes and rubbed at them for a moment to calm herself down, “…My family’s voices…” She whispered to herself in thought before taking in a breath, “I remember them… fuck…”

Her body laid right back down onto the bed. She hated this. 

All her life, she had always thought she was born on Earth. She grew up there, had a normal life as any Earthling child would. She went to school, attempted to make friends, did plenty of extracurriculars and hobbies that she had an interest in…

…Then that one day, when her powers had led for her to ask her father Vladik, why she had a flashback of seeing a baby crying in a fire.

It had turned out the baby in the fire was her. The story of how her father had found her and rescued her before the flames could get to her. It was that day both her parents on Earth had fallen in love with her and made the decision to adopt her. 

It was a secret that he didn’t plan on telling her until she was eighteen. But _now_ that she had gotten to learn the truth a whole year earlier, it pained her since the discovery. She loved her family very much on Earth… After all, they were the only family that she had.

Which was part of the even sadder truth. All she had known was that her birth father had passed away protecting their family, her mother was under some curse, and her older siblings were trapped away somewhere that she didn’t even know. It was unfair to her how her birth family was completely happy, only to have that happiness stripped away when the ancestral witches decided to attack her family all those years ago.

It broke her heart knowing that _she_ got to have a life, while her birth family wasn’t there to see it.

Natalya curled up on her bed and held onto her pillow out of frustration. She was grateful for everyone who was in her life… And she wouldn’t hesitate to give her own life for the ones she loved and cared for. Including her friends. But the fact that she never got to experience now being with her birth family, it broke her.

She closed her eyes and took in a breath. It was best to try to sleep, seeing that it was to be an eventful day in the morning.

Her exhaustion did manage to catch up after a few minutes. Crying to sleep was an additional factor to securing her exhaustion, which all she could feel on her face were wet tears by the time she had fallen asleep with her body curled-up underneath her blanket and arms tightly holding onto her pillow.

The window beside her had creaked slightly as she had fallen asleep. The tears on her face were present, but the wind had washed them away. A female voice then came from the air in a soothing tone, which had Natalya relax a bit in her sleep from being so tense.

_“Mama loves you, Natasha… Sleep well.”_

* * *

The sounds of waterfalls crashing against a body of water radiated throughout Shadow Haunt. Creatures of the dark had begun screeching at the late hour. It was at this time that all magical beings of darkness were awake to worship the Dark Lord. To offer their sacrifices and prayers that one day, the magic dimension would be ruled in negative energy.

Instead of a time of worship, the Dark Lord placed the prayers on hold from all witch covens throughout the magic dimension with a decision in mind.

Sitting on his throne, he had his arms crossed patiently waiting for the three new guests that he had welcomed into his palace. The candles in the room were dim, monsters were lingering on the ground bowing at his presence, before soon, what looked to be a portal formed in front of him.

The portal was large as it opened up. From there, three figures who had been wearing cloaks stepped out of the portal one by one, allowing for the Dark Lord to feel himself smirk in amusement upon recognizing the three mistresses he had added to his Kingdom.

“…Good evening, daughters.”

One by one, each which had lowered themselves onto their knees, bowing to him. The one who had been kneeling in the middle removed her hood to reveal Gelinda, who looked up at the demon with a smirk grown to her face, “Good evening to you as well, your wickedness.”

“How may we serve you this evening?” Aviana had removed her own hood to reveal her face; looking up at the male.

The question had the Dark Lord stand up from his throne. He stepped down the connecting staircase of it before approaching the witches, motioning for them to stand, “Ladies,” He began, watching the three of them rise, “Tomorrow evening is the day of what we’ve been discussing about for the past week. It is time we hold off the village for Pixies for now, but instead, go after the Codex hidden at the University of Heroics and Bravery.”

As the witches heard this, all of them could feel shock form on their faces. Nebula cleared her throat and spoke up, “But my Lord,” She spoke out in concern, “How do you know the Codex is located there?”

“Simple, darling,” The demon turned to his throne once more before taking a seat. He crossed a leg over the other; making sure to establish eye contact with each witch, “The history of the Codex states that the last individuals to have contact with it are members fo the Company of Light… Which we all know, the former members are now Heads of the different colleges of Magix.”

Silence came from the witches. This was information that they didn’t even know of at all. All they had known was what Prince Demande had told them - which was that the four pieces existed. In record, it wasn’t there. 

But the power of it lingered in the magic dimension to the point where he knew how to pinpoint it from doing some investigating himself. Specifically, in terms of history, as well as knowledge from his time as a simple warlock before being enveloped by the darkness that lingered in Shadow Haunt. 

“I am very confident that the Codex is hidden somewhere, deep in an abyss, in the University,” The Dark Lord further explained. As he said this, he had held out his hands to reveal what looked like a map. The map was rolled up into a scroll before soon, it flew directly to Gelinda where she grabbed onto it with a firm grip, “This will lead you to most gateways of the school. Do not allow yourselves to get caught. Steal the Codex, and perhaps I shall reward you for your efforts.”

“Oh?” Aviana perked up, “And what would this reward be?”

A smirk formed on the demon’s lips as this was asked. With a clap of his hands, what looked like three gems had appeared in front of the witches, which caught them off guard, “These crystals contain part of the dark magical energy that lingers in Shadow Haunt,” He explained, “Successfully retrieve the Codex, and I shall give you these crystals that will give you similar magical abilities that I have. Even spells you three weren’t even able to cast at the University of Dark Arts.”

The proposal was a solid deal. To have their powers become more advanced than they were with a part of Shadow Haunt’s magic. 

Gelinda bowed once more towards the Dark Lord, followed by Aviana and Nebula in her lead.

_“…We shall not disappoint you then, Lord Demande.”_

* * *

Rain drizzled down to the ground outside of Lenfia’s campus. It was a gloomy morning. No sun present, other than the sounds of birds chirping to indicate that it was morning. 

A morning that was expected to be full of rain, with it being sunny and clearer skies by the later afternoon.

Waking up early that morning for breakfast was part of the routine that the fairies in the shared suite had established for each other. Natalya was up first due to her mind being distracted from her dream, while Tatyana and Monika had joined her in the kitchen for a cup of coffee to wait for everyone to wake up.

It was agreed mutually the previous evening that they would all go to the dining hall to get some breakfast together before their first classes. Fortunately, that day was not one where they would be having their seminar, but it was still a busy day full of training and classes, nonetheless.

The rain picked-up by the time everyone had woken up to get themselves ready for the day. No one liked the rain, especially when there were some cases that Professors who hosted combat-based courses did have their classes outside regardless of the weather conditions. The only exceptions were lightning storms or hail - that was it.

It was around 9 in the morning when everyone had left the suite. Everyone was wide awake, minus Natalya who had hoped her cup of coffee would wake her up from a stressful evening, but it seemed to have done nothing other than having the reminder of her dream linger in her mind.

Sitting down in that dining hall at breakfast with not having an appetite was evidence of the fact that she wasn’t doing good mentally at all. But rather than worry her friends, she kept it to herself while grabbing a tray and placing breakfast foods onto it.

The six of them had gathered around a table that was empty. Usually, the dining hall would be busier around that time, but seeing that it was raining, most students suited to stay in their suites and make their own breakfasts. 

Which meant it was the perfect opportunity for them to go out and get a freshly made breakfast by Professional cooks. 

“The fact that they didn’t have any veggie cream cheese for my bagel pisses me off,” Florentyna spoke in an annoyed tone while sitting down in her spot. On her tray, it had been filled with the foods she usually ate. A bagel, fruits, some oatmeal, and an omelet. She grabbed onto her bagel and cut it in half, “Regular cream cheese isn’t the same… I’m a growing girl and need to eat things I like, you know!”

Monika rose a brow upon hearing this comment. She had been wearing her reading glasses as she was in the middle of reviewing material for a quiz she was to have later that day, before looking over at Florentyna with unamusement, “You do realize that everything on your tray is enough to satisfy the nutrients necessary for a growing fairy.” She responded, before soon casually reaching for what looked like a packet of veggie cream cheese she had gotten before they had run out.

Florentyna’s eyes widened when she saw this, especially with the large, teasing smirk that Monika had on her lips, “That’s so unfair!” 

“No, it’s not.” Monika opened up the package before placing it down to cut open her bagel, “First come, first serve.”

In the midst of the argument that was taking place, Tatyana had been in the middle of putting together small individual plates. On each plate had been cut up fruit, some eggs, as well as oatmeal with fruit before she held out her hand to form what looked like a lunch box. The lunch box was opened to reveal a cooling unit before she began placing the plates inside.

Florentyna had been about to argue with Monika again before taking note of what the brunette was doing, “What the heck are you doing?” 

“Hm?” Tatyana looked up at the other with a small smile, “Making breakfast for the Pixies. They’re all fast asleep still in the suite, so I figured I’d drop this off for them to eat before I go to my first class.”

Since rescuing the Pixies, the pixies who had now each had their own personal bond with the fairies, did not want to be anywhere else other than where their fairy was. The unfortunate reality was that due to the circumstances of how dangerous it was for them outside, it was decided that they would stay inside the school most of the time with supervised walks with the fairies outside.

The Headmistress originally had proposed that the Pixies stay with her until matters cleared up. But with a bit of convincing, the group of fairies managed to have the Headmistress allow for the Pixies to stay in their suite while they’re in class and be taken care by them.

“That’s nice of you to do,” Elizabeta commented. Seeing that they weren’t having breakfast inside the suite, which was usually what they did, the Pixies when they did wake up may begin to wonder where they all were, “They usually sleep in late. I’ll come with you to drop it off just to check-in.”

“Imagine sleeping in late when it wasn’t a weekend…” Mei sighed and brought her hands to her cheeks; staring up towards the ceiling in admirability, “Couldn’t ever be me with my schedule this semester—“

As she spoke, she had been just about to take a bite out of her omelet. Her fork had scooped up some of the egg that had some cheese filling before she took a bite and began to chew. However, while holding onto her fork, it suddenly began to glow.

Not just her fork, but all the forks in the dining hall. 

Mei’s eyes widened seeing the fork suddenly transform into a green stem. On the top of the stem, had been a beautiful, pink lily that radiated with positive magic. She touched the flower, clearly startled from it before she gasped, “ _Imagine_ if that happened when I took a bite out of my food…”

Everyone in the dining had begun to notice the change of all the forks. Even for those who were sitting at the table with Mei had picked up their own forks to stare in confusion. Tatyana, being the fairy of nature, had stopped preparing the small lunchbox of food for the Pixies where she admired the flower with a small smile to her lips.

“It’s a Stargazer Lily,” She said simply while running her fingers across the pedals, easily being able to identify it just by looking at it, “Who did this?”

_“I can perhaps answer that question.”_

Footsteps could be heard walking towards the direction of their table. Students who were once eating had paused and looked up at the figure who had been walking over in professional attire. A white suit with gold jewels decorated along with it - everyone had gasped in unison.

_“Professor Ayron!?”_

“Good morning,” The Professor, who had been smiling happily at the group of girls looked down at the flowers that were once forks. As he said this, he motioned to each of the tables where more shocked students were staring at their flowers, “While today is a rainy day, and for any fairy, that’s a nightmare. I thought what if instead of worrying about the rain, we can look forward to what the rain will give us… For example, healthy flowers for our environment.”

“Precisely!” Tatyana smiled in agreement as she sat up in her seat, “I full-heartedly agree with you, Professor.”

Professor Ayron gave a nod of understanding before walking around the table to one individual in particular. This individual seemed to have been dozing off in her sleep while in her hand, she had been holding onto the flower. 

All it took was one tap on her shoulder to wake Natalya from her slumber before she turned to face the source, “Oh-“ She gasped awake and rubbed her eyes, “Professor, when did you get here-“

“Good morning, Ms. Arlovskaya,” The man said simply, not phased at all from her falling asleep in the middle of breakfast. Rather than question it, he looked down at the girl and pulled his hand back, “I was actually looking for you. After the brief conversation we had back at the South Shore lake, I did a bit of research. I think I may have a plan on how to help you understand your origins, especially in terms of your situation.”

Hearing these words had her eyes widen. If there was one thing that woke her up, it wasn’t the two cups of coffee she had beforehand. It was as if the coffee had kicked into full gear with waking her up the second the Professor explained that he had an idea, which had her nod, 

“That would be great, Professor.” Natalya gently squeezed the flower in her hand, “I’ve been having a lot of dreams lately… Another one last night, so any help is definitely appreciated on my end.”

“So that’s why you’ve been acting sleepier than normal,” Florentyna couldn’t help but mutter in between taking bites out of her food with her spoon since she was starving. She, of course, had taken note of Natalya’s sleepy behavior.

“Wonderful,” The Professor reached over and gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze before turning around, “You have my class this afternoon, yes? Why don’t you come to my office afterward and we can discuss it? I’m confident we can figure this out together,” He expressed, only to soon begin walking away to make his way towards one of the food lines for breakfast.

The flowers remained in all of the students' hands as the Professor had walked off. Some of them were shocked that a faculty member made his way to the dining hall to see one student. After all, most faculty members usually grabbed their food to go and went to eat their meals in their office without the disturbance of students being around.

“Yeesh, talk about a weirdo,” Monika spoke in between taking bites out of her bagel. She swallowed briefly and cleared her throat by drinking some of her water, “Never have seen a faculty member here this early in the morning before classes. I admire his strength, but something about him doesn’t settle right in my stomach.”

“I’d rather not question it, honestly,” Natalya responded and rubbed her eyes. Now that she was awake from having that conversation, she began to work on eating her breakfast by starting off with taking small sips out of her tea that was now warm, “I did ask him about origins since he specializes in connecting your powers to your origins, right? May as well give it a shot and see what he can do.”

It was the only thing she could think of. After all, with already going through the process of her entire first year trying to learn about the dragon flame and heart of ice, she figured it was better to work with powerful figures that were experienced in history rather than rely on magical books with information that could be true or not.

The last thing she needed was for magical books to attack her similarly to how in her first year when all she did was search in the magic archive for information about the dragon flame and heart of ice. She had no idea it would lead to chaos taking place in the library because she had asked for something so simple, but it apparently was more detailed than she realized at the time.

Breakfast came to an end after an hour. Classes were beginning to start up, which meant for Natalya, Florentyna, Monika, and Mei - they all would be heading to one of their classes together seeing that Elizabeta and Tatyana didn’t have to start until later.

The empty plates and cups that once were full of food were gathered together as the group went to drop them off in the kitchen. There was an expectation that students clean up after themselves in the dining hall, which wasn’t a huge issue at all. After brief goodbyes to one another, the four who did have class walked towards the academic halls with their raincoats and umbrellas seeing that the rainstorm hadn’t subsided.

The classes that all of them had during that day were all strictly-combat based. While these classes switched off between combat and lecture styled learning days, what was assumed was that their class for the day would be held inside due to the rain.

The desks in the lecture hall were slowly filling with students by the time they all had arrived. All of it was assigned seating, so the group of four had split amongst themselves to sit down in the assigned seats that they were given at the beginning of the semester. 

A bell could be heard ringing throughout the academic hall to indicate that it was time for classes to begin. However, there was one thing different about the class that they were all in…

…And that was the fact that the Professor hadn’t shown up yet.

A small smirk formed on Natalya’s lips while she sat there in her seat with her notebook out. She was assuming that they would be having a lecture course today, but part of her couldn’t help but to comment, “Does that mean if the Professor doesn’t show up in fifteen minutes, we can all leave?”

“Where did you hear that?” Mei spoke out from two seats behind her since she had never heard of such a thing.

“Something that I learned when I went to school on Earth,” Natalya responded with a chuckle to her tone of voice. She looked over at the door of the classroom, thinking that someone would walk in, but no one did, “It’s always been a joke that if a teacher never shows up, ‘legally’, everyone has permission to leave.” 

“Has that ever happened to you before?” Florentyna leaned over in curiosity, “When you were a student?”

“…No.” If she had to be honest, she never had witnessed it. Only on television or whenever there were American exchange students at her school, they would always mention this, “But I always have wanted to say it and confuse people. That’s one thing off my bucket list.” 

It was weird to everyone that the Professor hadn’t shown up yet. If anything, it was common that most Professors were already in the classroom by the time students had begun to arrive to prepare for the class session.

However, for them all, the mystery of wondering where the Professor could be was answered by the sound of high-heels walking down the hallway.

Everyone in the classroom went silent the second it was heard. If that was the Professor, then it was best to make a good impression seeing that this was an honors class seminar. The door opened before what seemed to be a pair of red high-heels stepped into the classroom…

…answering the question that now, no one wanted the answer to.

Glynda walked towards the desk of the class in silence while the energy in the classroom immediately faded into dust. The last thing _anyone_ imagined seeing was the Head of all Discipline walking into a class. Usually, she made appearances if someone was in trouble, which was the automatic assumption that thirty of the students who were in the class came to the conclusion of.

The woman’s blonde hair had been pulled back into a low bun, all while he had been wearing a white blouse and black pencil skirt. Her arms were crossed while she glared at each student, giving them direct eye contact which most of them had to keep themselves from fainting in fear.

It was hard to believe such an intimidating woman could be a fairy. The one who instead of helping fairies, seemed to only know how to threaten them by turning them into creatures if they were to break any rules or disobey. 

“Good morning, ladies.” 

Silence filled the classroom. No one knew what to say or even do when it came to seeing Glynda. That was just how dominating of a personality she had - she didn’t even need to speak to have students at their knees for her.

Glynda cleared her throat once more before soon, speaking in a louder, tone of voice, “Good morning, ladies.” 

_“G-Good morning, Ms. Glynda!”_ What sounded nervous voices filled the room the second it was repeated again.

Good. This was what the older woman wanted. A class that was paying attention and could automatically know how to respond to elders.

“Your Professor is ill today,” Were the first words that came from the older woman. As she said this, she had clapped her hands; magic flying right out of her bag towards the board that was in front of the room, “So I will be substituting this class today. The honors seminar in magic martial arts. Because this is a martial arts course, we will begin our lecture discussing different scenarios before proceeding outside for your actual training. Understood?"

Silence came again.

_“Understood?”_ A ruler was slapped against the desk in front of the classroom. All of the students in the class immediately jolted from being startled before responding quickly to the administrator.

_“U-Understood!”_ Voices rang in unison from the class.

How could this day get any crazier than it had to be? While her friends seemed to be completely startled and horrified at the sight of Glynda, Natalya had her eyes narrowed at the older woman. Honestly, she thought she had dealt with intimidating Professors throughout the past year at Lenfia…

…Who’s idea was it to allow someone like Glynda, the Head of all Discipline, to be subbing their class!?

“Let’s begin with a few scenarios to warm us up, then,” Glynda turned to the board where with the snap of her fingers, what looked like a horrific creature had formed. It had been bigger than any fairy, which was visualized with a shadow of a fairy that was supposed to take it on, “You are up against an enemy much more powerful than you. This enemy has cast a terrible, destructive spell at you. What would you do?” 

Glynda’s eyes scanned through the classroom for any hands raised. The students were all hesitant on answering the question… Which was expected. However, one brave soul had the courage to raise their hand.

And that had been Mei herself.

As the hand rose, Glynda had motioned over to the dark-haired girl to give her permission to speak. Mei cleared her throat and sat up in her seat, “Easy. I would combine my powers with those who are with me at the battle.”

_“Wrong.”_

The response by Glynda was quick. Those who didn’t answer the question were startled at how quickly the woman shut the girl down, which had Mei’s eyes widen in fear of doing something wrong. And so, came with the clarification, “The attack was just launched at you. You’re not supposed to attack back - you’re supposed to _dodge_ before casting a spell in defense. Now you’ve been hit, and take damage to yourself.”

“Good thing she told us that one.” Florentyna leaned forward to Natalya in a low whisper, clearly snickering since she wasn’t paying attention at all. The mindset that the girl had was that if Glynda was just playing the role of a sub, why would she have to bother listening to someone like her? “If she didn’t say anything, I probably would’ve just stood there.”

Natalya’s eyes widened when she heard the comment. To her, she found it a bit amusing hearing such a thing, especially since Florentyna put that image in her mind of a fairy being dumb enough to just stand there and take the attack as if it were nothing. 

“ _Florentyna, if you think you’re a bit of a know-it-all, why don’t you show everyone in the class how it’s done?”_

Florentyna immediately brought her hands to her mouth the second she heard Glynda’s voice from right behind. She didn’t even know that the woman was walking around the classroom while speaking with Mei. If anything, she had thought that her whispering was quiet enough that no one would be able to hear.

“Florentyna…” Natalya whispered underneath her breath, avoiding all eye contact, “You dumbass..”

“We’ll start off training then outside with Florentyna showing everyone in the class what it does take to defeat someone more powerful,” Glynda stood up, walking past Florentyna’s desk before making her way to the front of the classroom. Stares were made right at Florentyna’s direction, which only had the girl sink more and more into her seat. Glynda cleared her throat and glared at the girl, “And she’ll do this by going against _me_ , a former guardian fairy.” 

It was an interesting transition going from the classroom to outside towards the athletic field. All fairies in the class were instructed to go with Glynda to test their full strength against her - with Florentyna being the one to go first after her behavior presented in the class.

For the first thirty minutes of the class, it consisted of going through different scenarios of what a fairy should do in battle. Some focused on combat, some focused on the response, and some focused on the timing of reflexes. All of these scenarios were ones that the students didn’t think that they’d ever had to face. Though for a former guardian fairy such as Glynda, she had gone through many of these scenarios.

The students were all directed outside the classroom once the physical training of the class was to take place. The athletic field was empty, which meant it was good training grounds for everyone. All students were to line up in a circle, where inside the circle, the real battle would be taking place. 

In the circle of fairies, Glynda had taken a step forward and placed herself directly in the middle. Her eyes scanned across the students, which at this point, all of them hadn’t been in their ordinary human attire. They had all been transformed into fairies - including Florentyna, who stood there with her scepter in hand and eyes widened the second the administrator made eye contact with her.

“Now then,” Glynda cleared her throat and motioned for the blonde to walk over, “Your peer Florentyna will demonstrate to us how to launch a successful attack.” 

This was what she got for speaking up in class. A small sigh came from Florentyna as she brushed back one of her pigtails behind her shoulder before walking over to the middle, “I should’ve just kept my mouth shut…” She muttered and approached the middle. From there, Glynda had pointed out where she needed to stand before taking position herself, “I feel like Lenfia fairies need a bit more respect…”

“You really ought to save your breath for this fight, Ms. Łukasiewicz.” Glynda spoke up and crossed her arms while glaring at the girl who seemed to be annoyed. With a watch on her wrist, she had pressed a button before looking at the fairy, “Your time starts, now.”

Being given the confirmation to proceed was enough for Florentyna to jump straight into the air. With her scepter in hand, what looked like a bright orb of magic coming directly from the sun had shined right against it. Florentyna looked down at the administrator who was staring at her, completely unphased before swinging the scepter right at her, “ _Solisio attackum!”_

As the magic was launched at Glynda, she had looked at it for a moment before holding her hands out to catch the orb of magic that was being flown in her direction. She smirked at Florentyna, now squeezing the magic into thin air as it turned into dust, _“Power absorb.”_

Gasps could be heard from the audience of students when this had happened. Even for Monika, Mei, and Natalya, who were all transformed in their fairy forms as well, were shocked when the administrator had pulled out a sudden stunt such as that.

“..What?!” Florentyna gasped when she saw this. It was almost as if she were going against the dark tower again. But in this case, it was against a woman who she was honestly afraid of. Her eyes narrowed in frustration before the scepter in her hands disappeared. This time, she had held her hands up into the air where bright magic formed between both her palms. She launched the attack, which consisted of solar beams shooting right down at Glynda’s direction.

The attack had Glynda chuckle for a moment before holding her hands out. A bright light formed around her body, followed by a barrier, “ _Protectus!”_

With this one spell, the magic that was sent from Florentyna had bounced against the barrier, launching right back to the fairy that was midair. The own spell that Florentyna had cast was hit against her, having the fairy fly directly to the ground in one hit. Gasps could be heard from the audience of fairies, who were shocked that the administrator was able to do such a thing.

“You should have dodged, Florentyna,” Glynda spoke up, clearing her throat in the process of doing so. This was a reminder of what was discussed earlier in the class, “Why don’t we have everyone use their best attack on me? The first one to get me down… And well, I’ll consider asking your Professor to offer you a waiver for your midterm.”

This was a proposal that no one expected to hear from the woman. It wasn’t that bad of a deal - to get out of an exam that could be possibly hard to complete. There were thirty students in the class, and she was just one fairy.

How difficult would it be to take her down? 

Everyone, one by one, had flown directly up into the air by using their wings. Glynda stood in place, where the barrier that was once protecting her had been completely gone. She hadn’t transformed or anything of the sort - she looked to be as any ordinary human.

Monika flew over towards the direction of the administrator. If she said to attack, then so be it. With one hand out, lightning had immediately sparked in her hands, being shot right down at Glynda, “ _Glitchius!”_

“ _Opposists.”_ Glynda’s hand was held out towards the direction of the lightning. In seconds, the lightning had turned into water - which brushed against her skin, doing no damage at all. 

Mei glared down at Glynda and clasped her hands together. From there, what looked like a large mallet had formed in between her hands, as well as for a drum made out of magic. With one hit against the drum, a powerful wave of magic was sent at Glynda’s direction, “ _Sound destruction!”_

_“Silencio.”_ A wall appeared in front of Glynda. The wall, this being in the form of a barrier, had absorbed the sound waves that were sent at her direction, leaving her completely unharmed. 

“This is ridiculous,” Monika watched as one by one, each fairy had launched their attack on Glynda. Each attack that was sent, Glynda seemed to have a counter-attack prepared to keep herself safe on the defense, “That kind of magic is immunity. It’s nowhere near our levels of magic!” 

“She can’t be invincible,” Mei followed-up in agreement while turning to face the short-haired blonde, “Every fairy has a weakness-“

That was the issue right there that the two hadn’t realized. If people had paid attention to what Glynda had been discussing earlier, then they would all realize that they hadn’t unlocked the magical abilities that she had. 

Natalya knew this.

Glynda was a guardian fairy. She already has gone through all training that was needed to be done for a guardian fairy to fight in the magic dimension. She was recognized as a powerful figure that fairies such as them, where technically they were level two in their training to become guardians, it would be impossible to defeat her.

And she wanted to put it to the test.

Natalya’s hands glew with power as she looked down at them. A bright flame - one that looked innocent, but could do a lot of damage upon impact. It wasn’t her full power, but it was enough for her to send her own attack to the administrator while muttering underneath her breath, “ _Incondensus sphere,”_ She whispered underneath her breath while bringing her arms back, now launching the attack. 

Glynda watched this closely. She immediately could tell right away that Natalya was holding herself back. She had jumped into the air; catching the orb with one hand and staring at it before crushing it in her fingertips, “Well well well,” She looked over at the fairy, who seemed unphased, “Is that all you can do, Natalya? I’m shocked seeing you use a baby spell on me for being the Princess of this dimension.”

She gritted her teeth at this statement. Natalya lowered herself down to the ground while glaring down at the administrator, “Deep down, I easily can,” She spoke out in defense of her actions, “But aren’t guardian fairies supposed to protect those around them? You want me to use my full magical abilities on you when putting everyone here at risk? Is that really how fairies are supposed to behave - even during an exercise?”

Shocked expressions came from the surrounding fairies when this was said by Natalya. No one had ever spoken up against someone like Glynda. Which to her, she was shocked as well - since she wasn’t expecting for Natalya to speak up like that.

However, Glynda smirked at this.

“…You’re right.” Glynda agreed after a moment and dusted her hands off after capturing the magic orb before. There, she turned to face Natalya with her arms crossed, “Those are wise words, especially coming from someone who isn’t a guardian fairy… _yet.”_

Leaving off the class with those words left Natalya thinking. Could she really have gotten away with using her full potential magic? If she truly wished to, she could cast guardian fairy spells right then and there against Glynda… But she put the safeties of others in front of her before even considering such a thing. 

It was something that Glynda had taken note of, especially since it was how a guardian fairy _was_ supposed to behave. 

The class eventually came to a conclusion about an hour later. After the exercise of going against Glynda had lasted for a few minutes, unfortunately, none of the fairies in the class had been able to defeat her. Thus, leading for the remaining hour to be focused on building strategies to take out enemies under stressful circumstances. 

It was relieving to be leaving the class after having to be in the presence of Glynda. For those who were stuck under her substituting, no one wanted to stay after that class and instead, proceeded with going to their next classes as quickly as possible. For those who were in the class originally, this being Natalya, Mei, Monika, and Florentyna - the group had split seeing that their classes were different after the training course with Glynda.

The next class, which Natalya, Florentyna, Monika, and Elizabeta had all been together in - had been another training-based one. This time, not with a substitute like before.

Entering the classroom after being exhausted from the previous one, especially for Natalya and Florentyna, had been a chance to sit down at their desks and at least take a breather after all the energy that they had to use in practice seeing that no one was successfully able to defeat Glynda.

“That class was completely unfair,” Florentyna couldn’t help but to mutter underneath her breath while rummaging through her bag. She pulled out a lipstick, followed by a small pocket-mirror, before proceeding to fix her make-up all while Elizabeta and Natalya took their seats, “Glynda’s a powerful fairy. She probably sat in her office and thought to herself it would be a ton of fun to have a ton of fairies in training attack me and be weak.”

“It’s something I’d personally do too, to be honest,” Natalya admitted all while watching the other fix her make-up.

“Really?” Elizabeta was intrigued by hearing such a response from the other. However, she leaned in interest, “Just hearing Florentyna’s ranting makes me glad that the schedule the Headmistress set up for me doesn’t have it. How come you think it’s a good idea for administrators to go against training fairies?”

“For experience,” Natalya responded simply. As she said this, she turned to face the other with a serious expression drawn to her face, “There are a lot of powerful guardian fairies in this universe. Glynda was setting the expectation of what we’re supposed to become within the next year. After that, I’m beginning to wonder how much more advanced we’ll be with our magic compared to now.”

Florentyna and Elizabeta had gone silent upon hearing this. It was an interesting takeaway from the earlier class, which led them to think to themselves. 

The class that was to be held currently was the one class that had involved Professor Ayron. Since his interaction earlier that morning, Monika still had the reserved thought about him. No faculty members took their time to hunt for a student and ask about availability for a meeting in person. Usually, that could be handled through email - nothing more than that.

Her brows were furrowed when the Professor eventually did enter the class, which immediately got the chattering in the class to silence. This class hadn’t been his master class, which was held only once a week - but more of a training course in preparation of finals to take place in the winter. 

The Professor arrived in style, as per usual. He had greeted his students with a small nod and smile of acknowledgment, before placing his belongings down in front of the desk. Ayron cleared his throat and turned to face the students, which he couldn’t help but chuckle, “Wow, I wasn’t expecting to have everyone’s undivided attention this soon. Good morning, ladies.”

_“Good morning, Professor Ayron.”_ The class had said in unison. Even Florentyna, who had finished putting her make-up on stared at awe towards the Professor. Monika kept herself reserved the entire time, keeping her attention away from making eye contact with him.

“I’m assuming all of you are having a good start to the week thus far,” As the Professor said this, he began to pace through the rows of desks. He gave smiles to each student, saying a brief hello to each one of them before continuing with his speech, “Let’s get started, shall we? As a refresher from our previous class, our ultimate goal is by the end of the fall semester, you should have memorized all advanced magical spells. This is especially crucial to know in my master class if you haven’t been selected to take it this fall, but during the Spring semester… For those who are in it now, well, consider yourselves lucky for getting a preview of what kind of magic you’ll have a chance to use.”

The Professor walked back towards the front of the classroom once again. This time, to reach for a piece of chalk that was resting near the chalkboard. He soon began to write out in large words, ‘TRUE NATURE OF THE ENEMY’.

The chalk was placed down, and so, the lecture continued, “The first spell that we’ll be discussing is how you can use your magical energy to determine the true nature of your enemy. Every enemy has a motive of doing something - but at what cost?”

Hearing these words had Monika sit up straight in interest. Learning about the true nature of a magical being… Did this mean one would be able to put themselves into their minds? She had no idea, but a small smirk formed on her lips as she began to write down notes about this spell. All at the same time, keeping a close eye on the Professor who seemed to have not noticed her staring. 

“Let’s begin with a brief demo,” With a snap of his fingers, the lights had dimmed down in the room. Whenever there was to be a demo, this meant the involvement of magic. And so, resulting in the students to move their desks away from the front of the classroom to give the Professor space. Professor Ayron had held both hands away from him to form what looked like small spheres of magic before bringing them close to form one, “ _Sphere of truth!”_

Gasps of amazement could be heard from the classroom. Even Monika couldn’t help but find herself amazed as she watched him conduct the spell, taking note of the exact posture and words he had used to conduct it as well.

The sphere remained in his hand as the Professor looked towards the students. There, he had begun to walk through the rows of desks to allow everyone to see the kind of magic he had been using, “This sphere has the power to show the true nature of your enemy. I must warn you, if used incorrectly, it can reflect against you and all _your_ secrets will be revealed. Personal and close ones that you may not want anyone to know of.” He paused with a serious expression to his face, “Now then. Would anyone like to attempt this?” 

At first, it seemed that the class had been eager to attempt the spell. But at the mentioning of having secrets revealed, everyone had held back. Including Natalya, Florentyna, and Elizabeta - who seemed hesitant of even trying such a thing if there was a risk of it going wrong and all secrets about themselves being revealed.

A hand was risen by Florentyna, “I’m sorry Professor,” She admitted, wanting to be truthful, “You got me at it being a powerful spell, but the second you mentioned there being a risk of it taking effect on us, I have a _lot_ of personal secrets I’d prefer bringing with me to the grave.”

A hint of laughter could be heard from the Professor as this was said. He smiled at Florentyna and nodded, “Very understandable. You all are only level two in your training, I would be the same way. But, I wouldn’t lessen yourself as a whole,” He explained before reaching for what looked like a clipboard from his bag. The sphere in his hands had disappeared at this point once he grabbed the chart and began to read it, “Because I think each one of you has the capabilities of accomplishing it… How about this,” He paused after scanning through the list before smirking, “…Natalya?”

The second the same was said aloud, looks were shot right at Natalya’s direction. She had been slouching in her seat, clearly not wanting to try out the spell at all. There were a lot of personal secrets that she had kept from her friends - even her family - that she wasn’t ready to put herself at risk of exposing. She swallowed nervously and sat up slightly, “…Yes, Professor?”

“Why don’t you show us how it’s done? You’re level two in your training,” The Professor spoke out while putting the clipboard down, “Just because your source of power is more advanced, you are a normal, ordinary fairy-like your peers. Why don’t you show it’s possible to conduct this spell without any backfire?”

“I’d rather not—“ Natalya began with her hands slowly raised in defense.

_“—I will!”_

As the new voice was said, the Professor slowly turned his head to the right where he was exposed to the sight of Monika standing up in her seat. She looked very determined to participate in the demo, which of course, he nodded and motioned her to come over, “Well, if we have a volunteer, I won’t have to pull out the choosing random card. Come on up, Monika.”

A nod was given by the girl as she took a step forward towards the class. Something about the Professor going straight to Natalya didn’t make sense at all to her. Plus, she was curious to learn more about the spell and how to use it. She looked at the Professor now for instruction, which he nodded before turning to face the girl.

“Place your hands together,” He first explained, guiding her as he did so. Once Monika was in perfect positioning, he kept by her side to keep watch on exactly what she was doing, “Now, concentrate fully and completely, and the sphere will come to you.” Listening to his words, Monika did precisely such as she closed her eyes and focused. All it took was for a few seconds before her hands began to glow of magic, “Focus only on the sphere. Nothing around you. Deep within your magical energy.”

_“Sphere of truth…”_ Monika whispered under her breath in focus, “Come to me…”

A bright orb of magic formed in front of her. The students in the audience watched closely, all while the Professor continued to coach, “Keep your summoning focus steady. I’m not controlling it, you are.”

That was all she needed to know. Opening her eyes now, the bright glow had begun to subside as she parted her hands to reveal what looked like a sphere. Amazement could be seen in the audience of students, all while Monika couldn’t help but have a relieved smile on her face.

“There you go,” The Professor smiled and looked down at the sphere, “You now have the sphere of truth in your hands.”

Ayron held out his hands where what looked like a target formed a few feet away from Monika. It was a large target, so she would easily be able to hit it. Monika however seemed more focused on the fact that she was able to get the sphere. If she knew how to do it, then perhaps this would come handy in the near future…

“Alright Monika,” The Professor continued, “Hit that target. And be careful, we don’t want any accidental scandals coming out from this class, yes?”

A chuckle could be heard from Monika when she heard this, “No Professor, not at all…” She began and looked at the target. With the sphere in her hands, she had pulled her hands back, launching the sphere directly at the target where magic had burst right against it upon impact. 

Clapping could be heard from the students, including the Professor who nodded in approval, “Very good. I’ll give you a few bonus points too on your participation grade for volunteering. You may go take your seat now,”

“Thank you, Professor,” Monika nodded and made her way back to her seat as the lights slowly came back on in the classroom. Now that she at least knew how to use a truth orb, she kept her eyes very focused on the Professor for the remainder of the lecture.

Even if he acted charming and nice, his fascination with Natalya extremely worried her.

Once the lights were on, the Professor held his hands out where a bright glow of magic came, “Now that we’ve had a demo of the first spell, let’s discuss of the second spell as part of today’s lecture. This one, focusing on primarily the truths of physical appearances. You may see an enemy that is grand and powerful, but just because they are bigger in size, does it mean that they are powerful enough to defeat you?”

It was a good question that was being proposed by the Professor, leading the students to think. And so, he continued on with his explanation before the light of magic had subsided to reveal two swords floating in front of him. This confused most of the students, but there was a reason for the presence of it as part of the lecture.

One sword looked rusty. It looked old, that if it had taken one hit, there was a risk of it being destroyed. The second sword was beautiful. A bright light radiated from it, almost as if it powerful magic associated with it, that it could take down any enemy. 

For some reason, Natalya found herself drawn to the sight of the two swords.

“Now then,” The Professor turned to the students, “May I have two student volunteers, please? Or do I need to pull out my trusty clipboard?”

It took a moment of silence. Though just as the Professor was about to pick-up the clipboard, Natalya rose her hand, “Me.” 

Her voice caught the Professor off guard. When realizing who it was, he smiled at the sight of Natalya and nodded, motioning for her to step forward, “Alright. A second volunteer, please?”

More students began to raise their hand now that Natalya had put in her name as part of the demo. Though as Natalya had been about to stand up and walk to the Professor, Monika’s eyes widened in panic as she reached over and grasped onto the girl’s wrist, pulling her back.

“Wha—“

“Wait, Natalya,” Monika whispered under her breath while the Professor was distracted picking out a second volunteer. Natalya turned to face the girl, clearly confused about what was going on before she spoke, “Just uh, be careful.”

Be careful? Her brows furrowed in suspicion at the mentioning of this. Why did she have to be careful? “I’ve held a gun before,” Natalya slipped her wrist away from Monika’s grip, “Don’t worry. I feel confident about this.” 

Why was Monika all of a sudden telling her to be careful? It wasn’t like she was going to grab the sword and go on some sort of killing spree.

Natalya approached the front of the classroom where already, the Professor had chosen a volunteer from his list. This had been a random student part of the class - one that Natalya didn’t know - but the two exchanged nods of acknowledgment before the Professor placed a hand on each of their shoulders.

“Now,” The Professor looked at the both of them. “Both choose a sword. Let’s allow the first person to chose by… Based on their birthday. Does that seem fair enough?”

Nods came from both the girls. The student looked over at Natalya for a moment before speaking, “October 9th.” 

Natalya’s eyes widened for a moment as she sighed. Great, that seemed to be the icing on the cake for her, “August 25th, so I guess me first,”

She approached the two swords in silence, examining them closely. Something about both of them had her drawn close to it. She wanted to go for the more beautiful looking one… But, deep in her heart, she found herself staring right at the steel, ugly looking one. Her hand reached for it and grasped onto the handle before she pulled it back and held it securely in her hands.

“Very well, then,” Professor Ayron motioned to the other student to grab onto the beautiful looking sword, which she didn’t hesitate to do so. The two girls stood in front of each other, and soon, came the continuation of the demo, “I want the both of you to swing the swords at each other. Do not hit each other, just the swords.”

“A sword fight in class…” Elizabeta leaned over in interest, curious to see how this would go, “Something I never thought I’d ever experience in school.”

The terms of the demo were very easy. Natalya and the other student took a step away from each other, for the sake of not hurting one another, before giving nods of understanding towards each other. The two fairies swung their own individual swords at the opposite, resulting in a loud clash to be heard…

…and for the beautiful sword to shatter into pieces in front of them.

“Huh…?” The girl looked down at the sword before turning to face the Professor. The blade was completely shattered from the impact of Natalya’s sword - how is that possible? “What happened?”

“What happened dear, is that your classmate chose wisely,” The Professor explained to her before snapping his fingers. “ _Reversus.”_ Within seconds, the shattered pieces of the sword had been put back together as if it were never broken. He turned to face Natalya, who had a shocked expression on her face, “I sensed you were going to choose the beautiful sword at first, Natalya. But in your heart, you knew that in battle, the uglier looking sword would succeed. You listened to your intuition,” He paused a moment before reaching for the sword in her hands, “…Your father was a swordsman, you know.”

At the mentioning of this, Natalya’s eyes widened. This was something that she hadn’t expected to hear at all as she looked at the sword. He was exactly right about wanting to choose the beautiful sword… But the reality was that her mind had convinced her that the steel, disgusting-looking sword would have a better chance of succeeding, “…My father?”

“Yes,” Professor Ayron took the other sword now from the other student. A bright glow of magic filled the swords before vanishing into thin air as if they had never existed as they were transported somewhere more safer, “It doesn’t surprise me that in your heart, you _knew_ which sword would be more successful. You didn’t listen to your wants and needs, you listened to what you _knew._ And that is your intuition - the _truth_ of what this entire lecture is about. And the truth of your family’s knowledge and legacy still being alive through you.”

This was all amazing information that she wasn’t expecting to hear at all. As she was dismissed to her seat, Natalya looked down at her desk, unsure of what to say. The Professor managed to figure out her decisions before she even had a chance to realize it. 

Maybe during her meeting with him later, she could ask him more about the connection of truth within her.

The remainder of the hour consisted of discussing different spells. Spells that all students had the chance to be the witnesses of demos, and would one day have the chance to use those spells in action. 

Towards the end of the class, students had begun picking up their belongings to head out to their next classes. For those who had earlier classes, this was technically their break time and opportunity to get lunch. 

This wasn’t the case for Natalya.

“I’m so ready for lunch,” Florentyna stretched with a small yawn to herself. As she said this, she finished gathering her belongings and placed them into her bag, “I could go for a chicken sandwich right now.”

“Have fun with that,” Elizabeta sighed, clearly being one of the students who didn’t have a break until later, “I’m stuck in my next morning class. But I’ll catch up with you guys later,” 

Florentyna frowned hearing this. There was nothing that she could really do since a class schedule was a class schedule. And after dealing with Natalya being up to her rear for the past year making sure she didn’t skip class, she wouldn’t argue or try to convince her otherwise, “Sounds like a plan,” She looked over at Monika and Natalya, “You guys hungry? I’m so ready — Wait.” She paused and turned to face Natalya, “Don’t you have that meeting?”

“Yeah, I do.” That was one thing that Natalya hadn’t forgotten about at all. Looking up, she noticed that the Professor had already left the classroom, which meant he was possibly waiting for her in his office, “I’ll catch up with you two after. It should probably be for twenty minutes.”

“Okie dokie!” Florentyna smiled at the other while watching her turn around and walk out of the classroom, “Good luck!”

A twenty-minute meeting with Ayron… The fact that the Professor was so interested in Natalya still filled her mind. She could imagine it’s possibly because he had favorites - it made sense. But this Professor showed up out of nowhere almost a week ago. How could a Professor already have a favorite?

Could it possibly be because she was the Princess of the magic dimension? The fact that he wanted to study her because she was possibly more powerful than him as a Paladin?

Monika sighed in frustration as Natalya left, still standing beside Florentyna, “I don’t like Ayron at all.”

A gasp was given by Florentyna when she heard this. She shot a look over at the other, clearly surprised by it since she wasn’t expecting to hear _that_ from her, “How come? He hasn’t done anything wrong.”  


“I don’t know, Florentyna…” Monika began walking at this point towards the exit of the classroom. From there, the two girls walked side by side towards the dining hall, since after all, they still did have a break before their next class, “Isn’t it a bit weird how he’s all eager to help Natalya? The guy showed up a week ago and barely knows her… I don’t know, I guess I’m just paranoid after what happened with the witches. I just… Am worried about Natalya, is all.”

“That’s so sweet of you,” Florentyna couldn’t help but to smile and wrap an arm around the other’s shoulder, pulling her close while they continued to walk, “Don’t worry. Even if he is fishy, you and I know Natalya is strong enough to take on anyone. She’ll be okay. She’ll go to the meeting, we’ll get lunch, finish our classes for the day - and just relax.”

A small, frustrated sigh came from Monika as she heard this. Part of her wanted to trust Florentyna for a moment when being told this, but the issue was that deep in her heart, she felt convinced otherwise. She looked over at her friend and nodded in understanding, “You’re right…

…maybe I’m just overreacting.”

* * *

Walking to the Professor’s office wasn’t a big issue for her. In the back of her mind, all she could think about was what was discussed earlier in that class… Her father being a swordsman. She never really found herself confident in weapons at all. Sure, she knew how to use the occasional knife or two - loved collecting them growing up…

…but was this just part of her origins? Her family being also very skilled in combat that it managed to transfer to her growing up? 

Yet, she had no recollection or realization of it until that very class.

Natalya walked through the academic halls of the college. She was sure that the meeting wouldn’t be long. If it wasn’t, then she’d just grab something from the dining hall and eat it on her way to class so at least she didn’t become angry due to not eating.

As she walked through the hallways, her phone began to buzz. 

She stopped walking in the process of doing so. Her guess was that it had been Florentyna wanting to tell her what’s being served in the dining hall for lunch, or if there was a change of plans. Or, possibly Homura, who was still up in her room but did have access to the suite phone in case she needed to get in contact with her.

However, all she needed to do was take one glance at the phone to see who exactly it was. The bag that she held in her hands was placed over her shoulder before she answered and brought the phone to her ear, “Alfred—“

_“Hey. You know what’s on the menu at UHB today?”_

Natalya stopped walking now. She turned to a corner, just so she could have a little bit of privacy in the hallway. After all, she was in a quieter area of the school near the faculty offices, so she didn’t want to be loud, “No. Do you?”

“Yep.” As the man responded, he currently had been in the locker rooms in one of the training facilities in UHB. He already had gone through his round of morning classes, so he was on his break as well, “It’s me ’n’ u. Get it?” 

Listening to the response, Natalya was confused. Maybe it was because sometimes his sense of humor didn’t make sense to her, but after it began to click. Menu… Me ’n’ u… 

…A slap could be heard from her end of the line, which resulted in Alfred to burst out laughing. 

“Screw you and your stupid pick-up lines,” Natalya began in annoyance. She swore he always had something planned for her. Either puns or pick-up lines… It was ten times worse if Florentyna was around as well. Then the two would go at it to see how long it would take to get Natalya to crack, “Alright, my turn. What do you call a Russian royal who calms down people?” 

Alfred looked down at the ground while sitting at the bench. He thought for a moment since well, it did all connect to her, “Well, you were raised in Russia, I know that. You’re also a Princess… But I don’t know. You may have gotten me there.”

_“A tranquili-czar.”_

“Ouch,” The male chuckled from the other line. He had to at least give her kudos on that one, “Did you make that one up yourself?”

“No,” Natalya responded. At this point, her back was pressed against the wall of the hallway while keeping her phone pressed up to her ear, “My sister did after she found out I was a Princess.”

“Sneaky.” Sometimes Natalya’s sense of humor was a bit weird for him to understand. But regardless of the matter, it was why he loved her. She was unique to him, which made him feel like the luckiest guy in the word for a weird man himself managing to land a Princess who was just as weird as him. Alfred cleared his throat now and sat up, “Anyway, I wanted to ask if you had any plans tonight.”

Did she have any plans? The only thing she could think of was doing homework after she finished her classes… That was it. And so, Natalya shook her head in response, “I don’t. What’s up?”

“Great,” Alfred felt a smile form on his face, “Tonight my team and I are going to have a private area of training grounds to ourselves - it’s a perk of being a third-year now. I wanted to ask if you and your friends wanted to come and train with us and after we can get some pizza and just, hang out.”

_“…So you’re saying you need fairies as target practice?”_

“More like the opposite,” He chuckled, “Figured you ladies would like a few guys to beat up as target practice while we work with new weapons.”

“Is that even allowed?” Natalya frowned now that she was thinking about it. Yes, Alfred was a third-year senior, but she was still a second-year at Lenfia. Would she and her friends get away with it? “Second-year Lenfia fairies on UHB property.” 

“Oh yeah,” Alfred reassured her before standing up from his seat, “Only first-years aren’t allowed on the ground. Second years are allowed so long as there’s an administrator or third-year facilitating… And well, I’m the third year facilitating it.”

That wasn’t a bad deal at all. It was either sitting in her dorm being lazy doing homework… Or she could go out and have the chance to practice her magic with some of the spells she had learned earlier. It would be in a safe environment, plus, they wouldn’t get in trouble.

“Alright alright alright,” Natalya sighed softly to herself before looking up, “Count me in. I’ll text everyone else to see if they’d be down for it.” 

A smile formed on Alfred’s face when he heard this. He figured that it was something fun that they could all do. After all, they were both upperclassmen now technically, so they were going through much harder training compared to before, “Sounds great. I’ll text you the details later today, okay?” 

“Mhm.” 

“So what are you doing now?” He asked. Since he got his confirmation with the hang-out, he was curious to know how she was doing. After all, the last they had talked was the previous night before going to bed. 

“Oh…” Natalya looked down at her watch. She forgot for a moment about her meeting before sighing, “I have a meeting with my Professor about researching my past. After I have two more classes, and then I’m free. How about you?”

A meeting with a Professor? Alfred’s brows narrowed in a bit of suspicion. She never really had meetings with Professors in the past, now that he remembered… But he figured he wouldn’t question it? “Same thing, babe,” He chuckled underneath his tone of voice, “Training from 6 am to 10, lunch, and more training. But today we get to play with cool guns, so that’s pretty neat.”

“Do I get to play with the cool weapons tonight?” Natalya couldn’t help but smirk. 

Alfred froze for a moment. Since she had begun to sneak to UHB to see him, he did allow for her to see some of the weapons he used… And mostly to satisfy her curiosity since weapons in the magic dimension were _very_ different compared to those on Earth. He pressed the phone up against his ear once more, “I dunno, Nat…” 

“Please?” Natalya spoke in a bit of a pouty tone of voice. She never did this around him, but if she was teasing him and wanted something, she would, “I’ll be a good girl. I promise. I’ll give you anything you want too.”

Now that was a proposal he could go for.

“Anything I want?” Alfred sat up and began to slowly pace back and forth in the locker rooms, “What kind?” 

“Not anal, that’s for fucking sure.”

Laughter immediately came from Alfred the second he heard this. She was honest with him, but he still found it hilarious to the point where he had to pause for a moment and drink some of his water to clear his throat, “Okay okay, I’ll give that one to you. Let me sit on it and think. And I know you’re a good girl. I made you like that.”

“I know, right?” Natalya’s tone of voice went dark, “What a dick move. Turning me into your little innocent sweetheart and I used to beat up guys like you for staring at me.”

“You could punch me and I wouldn’t even be mad,” Alfred responded with a small smirk drawn to his lips, “If anything, I’d put on my resume that the Princess of the magic dimension punched me in the face. Imagine the offers for service I’d get as a hero.”

That was another valid point that she wouldn’t argue with. After all, it seemed that a lot of people were eager to get her attention when she wasn’t at Lenfia… Which was why she avoided going out in public in most cases. Though upon glancing down at her watch again, she realized that she was running a bit late, “I’m sorry Alfred, I need to go. But I’ll see you later, okay?”

“Ah, that’s right,” Alfred had already gotten up to head back to the training grounds, “Meeting with that Professor, huh? Be a good girl and be polite. I love you.”

“I will.” There was a small huff in her tone of voice. What was that supposed to mean? Her little huff was noticed by Alfred, which had him laughing on the other line. So he was teasing her, “I love you too.”

Natalya brought her phone down and pressed the red button to end the call before turning around the corner to rush towards the faculty offices. Hopefully, Professor Ayron didn’t have a class coming up soon… She would feel bad if he was late because of her, but the fact that he was setting this time to meet with her and discuss her powers, she was appreciative of it and didn’t want to waste any time.

Upon arriving to the office, she noticed that the door was closed. There were no sounds coming out of the room, which she assumed he was working. And so, she brought a closed fist towards the door silently before knocking twice to acknowledge her presence.

_“Come in.”_

So he was there. At least it wasn’t one of those awkward situations where she knocked and he wasn’t there.

Natalya twisted the handle of the door open and pushed it open. From there, she noticed the Professor sitting at his desk grading a few papers… Maybe to kill off the time until her arrival. She didn’t mind talking to Alfred - she loved talking to him - but in cases where she had meetings, she blamed it on herself for being late and getting distracted. She walked in, greeting the Professor with a brief wave as the older male put down his pen and removed his reading glasses.

“Ah, Natalya. So glad to see you were able to make it,” The Professor motioned towards a chair in front of his desk. As this was done, Natalya walked over and took a seat; placing her bag beside her legs, “I was very impressed by you today in our lecture.”

“…Really?” Natalya was surprised to hear this. If anything, she thought she didn’t do good due to the fact that she declined to do one of the demos until one of the demos, this being the swords one, interested her and she genuinely wanted to try it.

A nod was given by Ayron, “Absolutely. It gave me an insight as to who you are as an individual. Strong in the heart, but knowledgable by mind. Being wise is a good trait to have as a fairy, especially since I’m presuming you want to become a guardian fairy in the future, yes?”

It was the plan. The truth was that she didn’t even know where her future lied ahead. From her understanding, guardian fairies served their planets as protectors… What was she if her planet was deceased? A guardian fairy with no home? Or a guardian fairy of Earth? She didn’t know, “I… Hope so, yes,” She nodded, “But in order to figure that out, I need to know more about my family. I know who they are, but I need to better understand the kind of people they all were.”

“Very understandable, which is where you’ve come to the right person,” Professor Ayron stood up from his seat. As he did so, he took out what looked to be a small bottle that consisted of a finely dusted powder. He opened up the bottle, looking over at the fairy for a moment, “It’s going to take a few sessions to figure out more about your origins Natalya, so I hope you don’t mind this. For today, we’ll take it easy.”

A few sessions to figure out who she truly was… Well, Ayron was better than going through Lenfia’s library and doing research on herself. She already had a bad enough experience with it, so if Ayron knew what he was doing, then this was her chance to have the answers to the questions she never got before when her mother would visit her in her dreams.

“By any chance do you have anything of your family’s?” Ayron looked at the girl now while finishing up the placement of the powder. It seemed that he had been setting it up as a base for a spell, “Anything. A picture, piece of clothing - anything?”  


Natalya’s face drew a blank. There was nothing that she had of her family at all… She had her dreams, and the first time she had visited Sparx, she had never thought to herself about picking up something while she was there…

…But that was when she realized it.

Her eyes widened as she placed her hand on the locket that was around her neck. The locket that was with her when she was born. The one that led for her adoptive family on Earth to have a bit of information about her… It had her birthdate and the nickname her family on Sparx would call her when she was born - ‘Nata’. 

“When I was… First sent to Earth as a newborn, my older sister saved me…” Natalya first explained as she removed the locket from around her neck. The locket was absolutely beautiful. She’s worn it her entire life. It was a symbol of her own Kingdom in a tiny form of jewelry, but it meant a lot to her. She held out the necklace towards Ayron, “My father, who adopted me, found this on me. My mother in my dreams told me each one of my siblings has one… this is the only piece that I have of my family left.”

A nod of understanding came from Ayron. He didn’t take the necklace, but did observe it for a moment, “Alright Natalya,” He motioned towards the sand, “Could you place it in this, then? This sand consists of fine dust created by monks in the realm of all peace. It is a powerful tool used for conducting higher level spells. What I’d like to do is connect back to your true, true beginnings. It could lead us to a good start. All I need is for you to trust it,”

A good start… Well, she was desperate at that point. The locket was placed into the sand gently where it laid there. She looked up at the Professor; a determined expression grew to her face, “I do. I trust it.”

As she said these words, a bright glow came from the sand. It was unexpected, but it seemed to be the key to unlocking the power in it. Natalya shielded her eyes for a moment while the Professor watched slowly; examining the details of what was taking place closely. After the glow came to an end, her locket was completely fine - but now, what looked to be scripture in the form of a tree of names was in front of Natalya.

“What is this?” Natalya looked at the Professor, unable to read it at all. It was in an entirely different language that she’s never seen before.

Ayron reached over with his finger to tap against the tree. With one tap, the language had immediately changed to English - allowing for her to read, “It’s your family tree, Natalya,” He explained with a smile before motioning to the bottom of it, “Your name is right here on the bottom. It connects back to your ancestors of over a hundred years.”

“My ancestors…?” Natalya’s eyes widened in amazement. She didn’t even know she had ancestors in the first place. Let alone, going back to over a hundred years ago. She was able to see all of the different guardian fairies in her family… The ones who had also served just like her to protect the dragon flame and heart of ice. 

“Mhm,” Ayron motioned towards the bottom where the most recent names were present, “Right here, we have your name… Then beside your name, have your older siblings names. Yekaterina Braginskaya and Ivan Braginsky. Then there you are, Natasha Braginskaya.”

Her eyes widened when she heard this. The thing was that Natalya did know she had siblings from her mother and her dreams - but she never got the opportunity to hear their names out loud. She had a feeling she knew their names, but seeing it in front of her confirmed her suspicion of what she felt in her heart.

“Ivan and Yekaterina…” She began in amazement; feeling a large smile beginning to form along her lips, “This is amazing… It’s all my ancestors from Sparx?”

“Yes,” Ayron nodded once more again. This time, he had motioned towards the names above hers which had been connected to her and her siblings, “Viktor was your father, and Alyona was your mother. Both the last rulers of Sparx before the tragedy, but I’m sure you know this by now.”

Unfortunately, she did. And she had to learn the truth the hard way just a few months ago. It was insane to her that it had only been a few months since she had first defeated the witches… But now that she knew they were back and lingering in Shadow Haunt, she could only imagine what they could be planning against her.

Especially with them being under the Dark Lord’s control, all she could do was hope that they didn’t have anything planned. 

* * *

A crystal ball shined beneath the darkness. In front of the ball, a figure stood there, lingering over it as a visualization of the scene taking place between Ayron and Natalya had played out.

A large smirk formed on the Dark Lord’s lips as he ran his fingers across the ball. Specifically, around Natalya’s face, as he admired the details of her behavior and personality in the scene. He sat down in his throne, paying close attention to detail.

_“Continue to gain her trust, my puppet…_

_…If this is truly the future Queen as her younger self, I must have her in my possession to make sure she never regains control of the Realm of Relix in the future.”_

* * *

Leaving that office after learning a lot of information from the Professor was something that she was glad to have experienced. After going through such a weird dream the previous night, Natalya had spent the majority of her morning unsure of how to feel. Until now after leaving that meeting, she felt more confident about the situation she was experiencing.

For now, though, lunch was the first thing that came to her mind before her last classes of the day.

Unfortunately for her, by the time she arrived to the dining hall, she had received a text from Monika and Florentyna that they had gone ahead since classes were about to pick up again for the afternoon. This she didn’t mind at all, and instead grabbed herself a sandwich before rushing to her next class.

However, Monika on the other hand had a bit of extra time before her main class later. This led for her to make the decision after parting from Florentyna, going directly back to the suite to grab her laptop to do a bit of research on Ayron.

Again, since leaving the class, she still didn’t have a good feeling about him at all.

She walked towards the second year dormitories and entered with her key card. Walking up to the suite wasn’t an issue at all, the thing was that she didn’t know if anyone was back yet or checking up on the Pixies…

…Which to her relief, no one was around. 

Monika glanced down at her watch. It was just around one o’clock, which meant that most of her friends were off at classes. The Pixies, for being very small creatures, were probably fast asleep for their afternoon naps. 

Walking into her room however, this wasn’t the case.

_“You’re back!?”_

Lara’s voice had filled the room the second Monika had walked in. The Pixie, who seemed to be in the middle of coloring, dropped the crayon she had been using to fly towards the direction of Monika to tackle her in a hug. However due to there being a major different in size, the Pixie pressed her face into the woman’s chest, resulting in laughter to come from the fairy.

“Hi Lara,” Monika patted her head gently with her fingers, “Sort of. I actually came here to do some research on something.”

“Research?” Lara flew up and looked directly into the other’s bright blue eyes, “I can help with that! Research is my specialty!”

There was a moment where Monika paused at the mentioning of this. It all made sense when Lara had said this, resulting in her looking at the Pixie, “That’s right… You’re the Pixie of Intelligence, aren’t you?” She couldn’t believe she forgot it as Lara nodded, “Do… you think you could help me with something?” 

“Anything for you, Monika!” The Pixie flew towards Monika’s desk. From there, she had followed just behind her to place her bag down and pull out a laptop, “What do you need?”

The laptop was placed on top of her desk. Once she was situated, Monika sat down in her seat and opened it up. She had to keep in mind that she only had a few minutes before her next class began, so she would have to research it quickly, “I don’t have time to stop to the library until later. But if I can find it online, it may be enough to lead me to find something.” She looked over at Lara, “Do you know anything about the name ‘Ayron’?”

“Ayron?” Lara flew and sat on top of Monika’s head. For being the Pixie of intelligence, usually, she knew everything about everyone… Including names of magical beings. However, that was the one name that didn’t ring a bell, “I… I actually don’t, Monika. That’s so weird… I usually know every important magical being in the dimension.”

“Interesting…” Monika began typing away on her laptop. Specifically, looking up the names of different Paladins that existed in the dimension. She was hoping that she could find something about them, but unfortunately, she had managed to find nothing other than information and details about them, “Nothing… Damn. If I want to know anything about Paladins, I can know details about their powers, but not about them actually.”

“Why are you so curious about Paladins, Monika?” Lara tilted her head and continued to watch the fairy as she researched, “Something on your mind?”

Something was definitely on her mind. The more she typed away, the more frustrated she found herself becoming. Monika sighed and continued to scroll through the search engine webpage she had open, “Yeah…” She sighed, “I don’t have a good feeling about Professor Ayron.”

“Isn’t that the new Professor?” Lara frowned, “How come? Did he do something?”

The truth was that Ayron hadn’t done anything wrong. However, there was something about his presence that made Monika very uncomfortable, “No…” She sighed, thinking it could be her powers having her assume things from instinct. After all, a fairy’s instinct was a very powerful feature, “I just started to notice that he has a bit of a fascination with Natalya. She doesn’t seem to notice it, but there’s something creepy about it that I just don’t like.” 

As she continued to type away on the search engine, nothing was still coming up. She sighed for a moment and sat back in her seat. How was she supposed to find anything about Ayron if nothing was coming up? How was he a Professor at Lenfia in the first place? She could do a quick search if she wanted to and easily find details about the Professors she had in the past.

But for Ayron? There was nothing.

“I wonder if there are any specific key terms that’ll give you a lead,” Lara suggested all while playing with Monika’s hair.

That was it.

Monika gasped and looked up at Lara, “You’re a genius,” She began, complimenting the other before typing away on her computer. This time, using three specific key terms that she figured would be enough to land something: _Eagle, Paladin,_ and _Winged Creature._

Within seconds, a notification popped up.

“Perfect.” Monika couldn’t help but smile in success as she reached over to remove the Pixie from her head. She held the Pixie in her palm, who looked at her innocently while tilting her head, “You have no idea how much I appreciate you. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

Lara blushed at the compliment; shielding her face away with her hands. It wasn’t common a lot to get complimented by a fairy… Especially a bonded fairy, nonetheless, “Anything to help!” She giggled and flew into the air, followed by making her way over to the computer, “That’s interesting. The data that’s coming up is about a winged creature that disguises themselves in order to gain the trust of a person. Once he wins your trust, he destroys you…” She looked up at the fairy, “You think this Professor has something to do with that?”

Hearing the details had Monika’s eyes widen. She began scrolling through the information, which had been a series of memoirs that were written by monks centuries ago. She didn’t know if it was reliable information with how old it was, but it was enough data to give her a lead, “Again, I don’t know,” She reminded the other, “But if that’s what the information says, that’s exactly how Ayron is with Natalya,” She began to read aloud, “ _This figure will isolate the strongest magical being, gain their trust by promising to grant the wish they so desire, before absorbing their powers._ ” She sighed a moment, “I noticed this specifically when he came to the dining hall _just_ to talk to her. Professors don’t do that, but he’s doing everything this memoir says about this creature.”

“…Are you saying the Princess could be in danger?”

“I don’t want to say anything right now,” Monika saved the page where she had the memoirs to look over later in the evening. She had a class in a few minutes that she needed to start heading off to, “Because I don’t want to seem like I’m overreacting. I’m going to keep this down low… But, Lara?” She looked at the Pixie, “…Could you not tell anyone about this? Not even Natalya?”

It was a secret. Lara stared at the fairy for a moment and nodded in understanding, “Absolutely!” She reassured her, “I hold a lot of secrets and I know the importance of keeping secrets. I won’t say anything to your friends, especially Natalya.”

A relieved smile formed on Monika’s lips as she heard this. Followed by this, she leaned forward and placed a kiss against her head, causing the Pixie to giggle, “Thank you. Maybe you should teach my older brother about keeping quiet, he could use a few tips.” 

The laptop was folded closed and slipped back into her back-pack. From there, Monika had placed her bag over her shoulders and turned to face the Pixie.

“I’ll be back tonight,” She began as she walked towards the door.

_ “…All I can hope is that my powers aren’t overreacting.” _

* * *

[GROUP CHAT: “Lenfia Rebel Suite”]

**Today, 14:02 PM**

Natalya [14:02 PM]: Hey. So, Alfred called me and said he managed to book some training grounds to practice fighting. He invited us if we wanted to go and practice our magic, then after ordering some pizza and hanging out. I’m going - anyone else interested?

Monika [14:04 PM]: Damn. That sounds amazing. Unfortunately, I can’t because I have a lab to finish tonight.

Tatyana [14:06 PM]: I’d love to come! But, what about permission? Won’t we get in trouble for using our magic off-campus?

Natalya [14:07 PM]: No. I asked Alfred that, and he said that apparently third-years at UHB can supervise underclassmen. He got permission, so if someone asks, technically he’s in charge of making sure we don’t blow up the place.

Florentyna [14:08 PM]: NATTY NOOOOO. :( I want to go!!! But I can’t!!! I have a paper due tonight at midnight and I don’t wanna do it!!!

Natalya [14:10 PM]: No. Finish your damn paper. You had two weeks to do it.

Mei [14:15 PM]: Why did you procrastinate this long to do it?

Florentyna [14:16 PM]: I didn’t… Procrastinate… I just got busy!

Natalya [14:16 PM]: Busy what? You have to get your assignments done. No excuses. I’m a busy girl too but I at least try to have my papers done for our Professors.

Elizabeta [14:16 PM]: I’ve been at this school much less than Florentyna and I managed to finish my papers in two days.

Monika [14:17 PM]: Get used to it. This is how Florentyna rolls.

Florentyna [14:18 PM]: You guys are doo-doo heads. :( 

Mei [14:19 PM]: LMAO

Elizabeta [14:17 PM]: Anyways, I’m down to join you, Natalya. What time? 

Natalya [14:20 PM]: Around 5. I’m just going to walk there since I need the exercise. 

Tatyana [14:21 PM]: Mei? Are you joining us?

Mei [14:21 PM]: Also can’t. I’m working on a new song and I’m so close to finishing it, so I’m going to stay in and finish it.

Tatyana [14:22 PM]: Fair enough! :) We’ll keep you, Monika, and Florentyna posted, then!

Elizabeta [14:24 PM]: Cool. Meet outside Lenfia’s gates at 4:30 then?

Natalya [14:24 PM]: Yeah.

Tatyana [14:25 PM]: Sounds like a plan! See you ladies then! <3 

Natalya’s phone was placed back into her pocket once the group conversation came to an end. So she’d be going with only Elizabeta and Tatyana - she didn’t mind at all. At least she’d have a few friends with her to practice magic with.

Other than just the guys who used only weapons when it came to combat training.

The remainder of the afternoon was very uneventful. Nothing major taking place, other than students rushing back and forth between classes, doing schoolwork, and fulfilling the roles of being college students. 

There were only two more classes that she had to go through that day, which both were lecture-based ones. She could manage to survive two lectures with all the note-taking that usually took place. Then afterward, she would have something to look forward to with releasing her powers and getting practice done in a safe environment at UHB.

Aside from practicing, she had been also looking forward to seeing UHB after its reparations and upgrades.

Since the attack that had launched back in the early Spring by the descendants of the ancestral witches, a lot of destruction had taken place at UHB. The damages were beyond repair, which lead to the decision for the Headmaster to completely build the school up entirely once more. 

The University of Heroics and Bravery was ten times more beautiful than it was before. Originally it had been on the ground where it was shaped to be similar to a palace with multiple training grounds for the men to practice. Now, this wasn’t the case. The university was floating in the air with beautiful waterfalls trailing down it. 

Students had the option to conduct not only training and fighting on the ground but the opportunity to conduct missions or battles in the air. This lead for students, especially those who were third years, to continue their training with more in-person combat rather than having to schedule certain times to go and train in between classes.

Seeing the school after the last time she saw it, which was back during her whole encounter with Alice - Natalya was truly looking forward to it.

This was why by the time her classes came to an end at around 4, she had gone directly to the gates of Lenfia to meet-up with Elizabeta and Tatyana. 

However, miles away from Lenfia’s entrance, a dark force had managed to raise itself from the ground. 

The dark force was at first a large shadow before turning into a portal. The portal which was black and dripping in disgusting goo slowly opened to allow three figures to step out one by one. The leader of the three, who had been a tall blonde with a smirking expression to her face, glanced up towards the sky upon stepping out.

It was a beautiful day on Magix. It was amusing to her that the last time she had stepped on Magix, the planet was at its feet for her and her sisters. Now, it was back to normal…

…which she despised more than anything.

Gelinda took a few steps forward once Aviana and Nebula were fully through the portal. There was no time to waste. The Dark Lord had specifically given them instructions to go to UHB and find the Codex, which he was determined was hidden somewhere beneath the school. Once the Codex was located and brought to him, soon enough, they would be rewarded with abilities that would allow them to cast more advanced magic.

“The moment the Dark Lord has been waiting for…” Aviana spoke underneath her breath while following beside the other two witches. Just ahead, which had been about a mile away, the brand new campus of UHB stood in the air. This was the first time the witches had been seeing it since destroying it months ago, but now, it was an entirely new looking school, “Time to do some real damage and get this school back on the ground.”

Laughter erupted from Nebula as this was said aloud. She glanced over at Aviana; a growing smirk on her lips, “If breaking down the schools means we’ll be able to locate the Codex quicker, then so be it.”

The issue for them was that UHB had a lot of trained professionals. All the heroes were stronger physically, but not with magic… So that meant if they were to waltz right in without any plan, there was a risk of getting themselves caught and arrested.

The last thing the witches needed was to get sent back to the World of Peace. They were already on all the wanted lists of the magic dimension - no need to put themselves at risk that easily.

Which led to Gelinda’s proposal to an idea to Aviana and Nebula. Rather than just walking in and having to play stealthy, why not send a distraction to those at UHB? That way, the heroes and faculty members would be focused on what was going on, while they got the chance to sneak in and retrieve the Codex.

“Are we ready just as we discussed, ladies?” Gelinda stopped walking now. It was better to conduct the spell far away from the campus to avoid suspicion. Once the other two witches nodded, she held her hands out to the others to form a circle, “Just as we planned. We’ll send a destruction orb to the school. They’ll get distracted trying to stop it, and that’ll be our cue to break in.”

It was a good plan. No need to disguises… Plus, who would be guarding the Codex if everyone was focused on a stupid little magic orb?

The three witches all closed their eyes as they focused their magic in the middle of the circle. Silence came from all of them, before soon, what appeared to be a bright glow of dark magic to fill the empty space. In unison, the witches had chanted, “ _Levaiosis, atara, destructo manifico!”_

A small orb began to take shape in between the dark magic. As the seconds passed and the witches continued to focus their magical energy into it, the orb grew big. It grew bigger and bigger as the seconds passed, to the point where it had grown to be almost five feet… Then ten feet… To almost thirty feet in size. It was bigger than all three of them combined as dark magic sparked from it.

One touch of the orb and someone could get killed from it.

The circle being joined by their hands was immediately disconnected as the witches launched the orb towards the university. Now, all they had to do was wait, and let the damage begin before making their trip inside.

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Gelinda smirked at the other two, “Let’s get going.”

The orb was quick. It flew directly to the school within only a matter of minutes before the sounds of explosions could be heard. Fireballs, lightning, and even thunder filled around the campus grounds as heroes al began to rush outside from either their dorms or classrooms.

The attack, while unexpected, leading for third-year heroes such as Alfred and Gilbert to stop their training to rush into their battle attire. 

No one knew what it was, let alone, what was causing it.

During that span of minutes, Natalya had been sitting right outside Lenfia’s gates with her phone out as she scrolled through her emails. 

Nothing ordinary coming to her attention as she stood there in patience. By the time her two friends did arrive, she put her phone away and looked at Tatyana and Elizabeta, “Glad to see you guys were able to make it.”

The two had gone back to the suite to drop off their belongings so they weren’t carrying textbooks or large backpacks. Tatyana smiled while holding onto a small bag and was dressed in more comfortable, traveling clothes, “Of course! I’ve been cooped up for days working on my own potions, so I figured that releasing some magic will do me some good.”  


“I just want to beat up boys, honestly,” Elizabeta spoke truthfully, resulting in what sounded like snickering to come from Natalya. 

“I won’t question you on that,” Natalya responded and began to walk with the two. 

Any opportunity to beat up a few guys, she was always willing to do. Even if it included her boyfriend, Natalya was willing to go against him in a small fight if she was ever given the chance to.

As the three fairies walked, it was a chance for them to admire how it had gone from such a gloomy, rainy day, to a beautiful one. The sun was out and clouds were clear - it was as if no sign of rain or distress in the environment existed. Animals were running around the path they had decided to go through to get to UHB, all while there was a little breeze in the air that did feel good against their skin.

“Do you think they’ll have test dummies to practice on?” Tatyana began with thought to her tone of voice, “I don’t want to risk hurting anyone. Even if it’s on a training ground, I’d want us to be safe when we use our magic.”

“I’m sure that’ll be the case,” Natalya looked over at the brunette with a small shrug, “Besides, at this point, Alfred, Gilbert, and their team are pretty much Professionals at this point when it comes to combat. If we fuck up, they’ll tell us. And I’ll emphasize this too when we get there,”

“I still want to fight a few guys though,” Elizabeta chuckled and stretched her arms over her head, “I just think it’d be funny to return to Lenfia. We’re all sitting in the living room studying, all while asking each other how our days have been… and bam, I come out with, ‘so I beat up a few guys.’ Wouldn’t that be amazing to hear?”

“As long as it doesn’t hurt Alfred,” Natalya looked over at the other, feeling a small smile form on her own lips - which was a _rare_ sight to see from her, “Go for it. I’m sure Gilbert would love to have a good fight against you. Alfred holds back more because he believes in the whole ‘never hit a girl’ thing, but Gilbert doesn’t give two shits.”

Elizabeta paused as she heard this. She crossed her arms underneath her chest in thought once more, “Gilbert… That’s the annoying guy with the red eyes, right?”

“He’s not annoying,” Tatyana corrected the other. “Everyone has their flaws.”

“In other words, she’s saying he’s annoying,” Natalya clarified for the other, which resulted in Elizabeta to burst out laughing, “He means well. I like him, and it takes a lot for me to like someone and considers them a friend. He takes care of Alfred when I’m stuck here studying, so I don’t mind him.”

“Well, if someone asked me to punch him for a million dollars,” Elizabeta clarified to the other with a smirk to her lips, “I’d do it for free. The guy pisses me off. Always thinking he’s cool and better, man… I’d love to wipe the smug off his face.”

Natalya and Tatyana exchanged brief looks with one another upon hearing the mentioning. The sudden dislike that Elizabeta had for the man was completely random and out of line - especially for her. But alas, they simply chuckled to themselves; not bothering to question it.

After all, that was her opinion, and they both had their reserved opinions as well. 

“Well, hopefully, once we’re there,” Tatyana began, “Maybe we could order a pizza first then go burn those calories off with sparring—“

As she spoke, a loud explosion filled the air.

The ground began shaking upon impact from the explosion. Tatyana had let out a shriek as she stumbled to the ground, not able to keep her grip on the ground all while Elizabeta reached out and held onto a tree for support. Natalya, kept her arms out, using it to keep her steady while looking around frantically in confusion.

They were about two minutes away from UHB’s campus. Explosions weren’t common at all around UHB. Unless there was an attack going on? 

“What’s going on?” Natalya looked up towards the sky. There, she could see the campus completely intact… But floating around it, seemed to be some sort of magical orb causing destruction to it? “Is the school getting attacked?”

“It looks like some sort of magic orb-“ Elizabeta followed-up since she had noticed it as well, “Come on, maybe we can go and help out.” 

The three girls began sprinting towards the campus now. The explosions only grew more and more in volume with each attack that was launched at the school, resulting in the fairies to once in a while stumble in their tracks. However, they all got up and kept going.

_“Red alert. Red alert. All heroes in training, first years, second years, third years, and graduate students - this is an alpha alert. An unidentified object has launched an attack. All students are to report to emergency battle stations. Follow all emergency procedures."_

Natalya, Elizabeta, and Tatyana stopped in their tracks as they looked up at the school. This was all their first time seeing the school since the remodeling. While the school was much more beautiful compared to before - the fact that the magic orb was damaging the property again was something that no one wanted.

That was when they noticed something.

Below the school, what looked like large aircrafts in the form of ships began to drop one by one out a chamber shoot. Each aircraft flew into the air, beginning to fly directly towards the orb with weapons set out to attack and stop it. 

Including Alfred and Gilbert being part of this. 

In two separate ships, their team was split up by two. Alfred and Mathias had been in one ship, while Gilbert and Antonio had been in the other. 

The number of ships began to increase. More of them began to fly in, consisting of mainly third-year students to go after the orb while second-year and first-year students were put on defending the school.

Alfred had been wearing a helmet while his hands had been controlling the pilot’s chair of the ship he was in, all while Mathias was handling to send the attacks to the orb. Around his head, a microphone was connected while he kept focus, “Commander,” He spoke into the microphone; contacting the head of their program, “We have visual contact with the orb.”

_“Keep it away from the school!”_ A male’s voice came from the other end of the headset he was wearing, which the entire team could hear, _“And do not send attacks to the campus either!”_

“That’s a copy,” Gilbert responded from his end, where in his own ship with Antonio, he had been controlling the weapons of the ship while Antonio was piloting.

The last thing that they all needed - not just them - but all third years, was for a sudden attack to take place. No one had known what was going on. It was unexpected since there hadn’t been an attack on UHB since the events of the witches earlier that year. 

Was there a potential dark force lingering in the air that would lead to this?

“Velocity of the orb is five hundred miles per hour,” Antonio spoke into his headset to connect to Alfred to give an update on what he was observing, “Commander, it keeps getting closer to the school. If we launch an attack, there’s a risk of potential damage.”

_“I said what I said!”_ Yelling filled the headsets of the men, _“Do not let it get near the school! If it gets in, there’s a risk everything inside becoming damaged. The probability of it getting inside the campus can result in potentially destroying the campus entirely from how powerful it is!”_

“For one stupid orb?” Alfred’s brows furrowed in frustration. That didn’t make sense at all. If this was a magic orb, how could it be that powerful to destroy a brand new college campus?

“There’s dark magic involved with it, Alfred-o.” Mathias spoke out from the chair behind him; continuing to launch attacks at the orb. Each hit, immediately bouncing off the orb, but he proceeded as he was ordered, “It may look like a stupid orb, but it’s doing some major damage.”

Alfred’s hands gripped around the stirring wheel of the aircraft. It didn’t make sense at all… Everything was fine earlier. There had to be something more going on. With keeping his eyes on the orb, he pressed a button on his headset, “Commander, if the orb is trying to get into the school, what is it specifically going after?”

Silence came from the end of the headset. The Commander, who had been one of their Professors and coaches when it came to training, had nothing to say. There was a suspicion that he had upon recently having a discussion with the Headmaster about a potential risk of the Codex being discovered… 

…But there could be no risk of people knowing its existence.

And so, he lied, “Nothing.” He responded to the question briefly, “That doesn’t mean the orb won’t probe our defense systems for any weaknesses. Keep your damn eyes on that orb, you hear me, Jones?” The tone of voice was strict and serious, “And if your team does well to neutralize it, I’ll guarantee you right now as a promise that you all will be exempt from your winter final exams!” 

“Yooo…” Gilbert laughed when hearing this; feeling more determined while aiming the weapon of his ship with Antonio right at the orb. Within seconds, he pressed a button, launching more attacks on it, “Exempt from finals? Alfred, Mathias - don’t fuck this over for us now.”

In the midst of the third-years taking care of watching the orb, the Commander shifted his communication on his headset specifically to the guards of the school. Not the students, out of risk of making sure no one knew. He cleared his throat, followed by connecting the message to Headmaster Elijah, who stood in his office, patiently waiting for an update.

_“All graduate students - go down to the basement of the university and guard the elite chamber! There is an item in there that this orb is potentially going after, and we can not risk the orb getting to it! I repeat, defend the chamber in the basement of the school, immediately!”_

A real battle was taking place on the campus grounds. No one knew what was going on - including Natalya, Elizabeta, and Tatyana. However, this didn’t stop the three from rushing inside the school where students had been running around in different directions either to go out and fight or defend the school.

“We need to get to one of the emergency towers here,” Natalya looked over at Tatyana and Elizabeta, “Maybe we can get some answers as to what the hell is going on.”

“Do you even know where that is?” Elizabeta asked, “I’ve never been here before!”

A head shake came from Natalya. Yes, it was her first time on the campus as well, but she’d figure it out, “Come on,” She began running forward down the hallway, “We’ll find it. I have no idea where Alfred and Gilbert are, but I’m assuming they’re all fighting this.”

Finding an emergency tower was very simple for the three of them, to their surprise. There had been signs set up in different areas of the hallway that they were in, that in any case of emergency, students did have permission to go up there for assistance.

The issue was that upon approaching the tower, there had been a key. This key had been in the form of a finger print… Which were for students. And none of them were students at UHB at all. 

Natalya looked up upon seeing a sign on top of the scanner with her eyes narrowed as she read to herself in a whisper, “All emergency towers are authorized for faculty, students, and outsiders under the discretion of the Ministry of Magix…”

“So we can’t get in?” Tatyana frowned in concern, “How else are we going to find help?”

That was the thing. Natalya read the sign again and again trying to better understand it. She had a thought on how they could get in, but she didn’t even know if it was deemed possible, “…Maybe…” She whispered under her breath before placing her hand right on top of the scanner, resulting in gasps coming from Elizabeta and Tatyana.

“Natalya—“ Elizabeta choked out, “What are you—“

_“Natasha Braginskaya. Authorization accepted.”_

The robotic voice filled the air, which shocked the three fairies that stood in place. Even Natalya, who was mainly surprised it even worked, watched as the doors opened that led to an elevator, “Come on,” She began as she walked inside, “I didn’t think it’d work. It just said outsiders that were under the discretion of the Ministry of Magix — so I figured why the hell not, and it worked.”

“Well, good damn thing you’re the Princess of the entire magic dimension,” Elizabeta waited for Tatyana to come in before the doors of the elevator shut. In seconds, they were all immediately shot up from the ground directly to the entrance of the main emergency tower, “That’s something to definitely keep in mind.”

The trip up the elevator was quick. The girls had no idea where it would lead them to, but it would possibly lead to the answers of figuring out what was exactly going on. The sooner they had the details, the better. And, potentially the opportunity to help the heroes with the fight.

The doors opened upon their arrival. Inside the emergency tower, had been students sitting down in front of a control panel, speaking through headsets as a form of communication between parties that were either defending the school or attacking the orb. 

In front of them specifically had been a large chair where a tall man had been sitting in. 

The commander, who hadn’t authorized anyone to come up to the tower, turned around immediately upon hearing the elevator open, “Who the hell—“ As he did so, the first thing he had managed to lay eye contact on had been Natalya. His eyes widened upon recognizing her on the spot, as well as for the two of her friends that stood behind her, “Princess Natasha—!?”

The words being said aloud had the men who were working at the control panels stop immediately. All of their heads had shot over to the entrance of the elevator where the three fairies were standing, absolutely shocked that they were there in the first place.

“It’s Natalya, thank you,” Natalya corrected the older man before taking a step forward. She didn’t know the administrator well, but she’s heard plenty of stories from Alfred on who this man was… He fit the description that her boyfriend described him as too. Tough looking, tall, and very strict looking with piercing bright green eyes. That was him. And so, she didn’t hesitate to get straight to the point, “What’s going on here, Commander?”

“You shouldn’t be here—“ The Commander stood up from his seat. Upon noticing that the men had stopped what they were doing, he slammed his fist against the side of his chair, “Did I say you men could stop?! Keep going!” He shouted, resulting in the men to quickly look away and get back to work while he diverted his attention to the fairies, “As I said, none of you should be here. Especially _you_.” He looked at Natalya, “There’s been an attack on the campus. A potential force possibly breaking in to steal an item that belongs to UHB.” 

“What’s the item?” Elizabeta asked with a serious expression on her face.

“I’m unauthorized to tell you, my apologies,” The Commander explained. There was no chance of risking it… Even if the Codex was technically under the Braginsky name, which it was, even Natalya who stood there couldn’t be at risk of knowing about it, “You all need to leave—“

“Let us help.” Natalya interrupted.

The Commander glared down at her, “Excuse me?”

“I said, let us help,” Natalya repeated herself. This time, making it clear by standing her ground. They needed help - how else were they going to stop a magical force? All the heroes had were weapons. She, Elizabeta, and Tatyana were fairies - they had magic that they could use to try and stop it.

“We all have powers and magic,” Tatyana spoke up as support to Natalya’s claims, “We can figure out the source of what’s causing the magic source and give the heroes fighting information on how to stop it.”

Silence came from the Commander as this was said. He crossed his arms and glared down at the girl, which despite his intimidating appearance, Natalya was unphased, “How are you so sure you can accomplish such a thing?”

“ _We_ saved the magic dimension together,” Natalya reminded the other. This was a true statement. After all, while she handled Gelinda, the fairies at Lenfia and the heroes from UHB did stop the army that was launched on everyone from the witches, “We can help one another. Elizabeta, Tatyana, and I - we’re fairies. We can use our magic to give you all a lead. And whatever it’s going after here - make sure the orb doesn’t get it.”

The Commander was still unsure about it. As he was about to open his mouth again to suggest another claim, Natalya took another step forward.

“Please.”

Her serious behavior and determined expression had the Commander release a sigh. She looked determined and wasn’t going to budge if he had told her and her friends to go away. And so, he sat back in his seat and turned the chair away to face the monitor that had cameras showing the battle taking place outside with the orb, “Here’s the situation,” He began, which immediately had Natalya, Elizabeta, and Tatyana listen closely, “The source is a magical sphere that is radiating dark, powerful, dangerous levels of magic. We don’t know who set this thing up - but we _have_ to keep it away from the school.”

_“Commander!”_

A voice filled his headset that had the Commander pause. It had been loud enough for the girls to pick it up, which had Natalya’s eyes widen the second she recognized the voice.

_Alfred…_

“Excuse me,” The Commander put his headset on once more and pressed a button to connect with the call, “Status report, Jones.”

_“The orb is leaving the immediate area.”_ Alfred spoke into the microphone of his headset, keeping a close eye on the orb that was beginning to go opposite of the school now, _“Should we follow it?”_

“You men return back to base and switch out with the second years,” The Commander spoke quickly in the decision before pressing a button to turn on a speaker, “All second-years, report to your aircrafts immediately! The orb is leaving campus, go after it and get it! All third years retreat back to campus to defend the entrances of the school! There is a risk of danger still lingering! I repeat, all third-years, report back to campus!”

As the announcement was made, Gilbert had looked over at Antonio who was already beginning to direct the ship that they were on back to campus. He pressed a button on his headset to connect with Alfred and Mathias, “Copy that. I’ll meet you guys in the bunker,”

The switching in positions began to take place. One by one, the ships that consisted of third-year students were soon replaced with second-years in aircrafts who had the sole priority of going to retrieve the orb. If it was even possible, that was the thing.

However, with the orb out of the way, _this_ was what the witches were exactly planning.

It was being used to serve as a distraction to the heroes. The fewer heroes they would have to fight upon entering the school, the better chance of them being successful in their mission and escaping.

Laughter erupted from Gelinda as she, Aviana, and Nebula all rose from the ground underneath the school. They had kept themselves hidden as the orb sent the attacks, which meant it was showtime for them now. 

One by one, each witch had begun running towards the lower entrances of the school. The perks about having magic included listening on to conversations that took place through any calls so long as there was a connection… The fact that the heroes were communicating through headsets, and the Commander of the students telling them to guard the basement, was enough of a confirmation that the Codex did exist.

And the witches knew exactly where they had to go.

There had been one entrance at the bottom of the school. The entrance was surrounded by heroes guarding the scene, which meant the witches had to do a bit of work before they could get in.

The heroes who were on guard, upon taking notice of the witches, all positioned themselves for a potential battle to take place.

And alas, a battle did come.

The witches launched their attacks against the heroes guarding the entrance. Gelinda had used trapping spells to keep them in place, Aviana had used spells in order to get some of the heroes to faint, all while Nebula had the important task of getting the door opened that would lead them to the entrance of the basement.

Sparkles of lightning filled in between her fingertips as she stood in front of the door. Her two sisters had been currently occupied taking out the guarding heroes one by one; making sure there were no interruptions of completing the mission. Nebula approached the door; the magic in the palms of her hands growing even more in power before she slammed her fists against the door.

Within seconds, a powerful blast of magic had shot through the entrance of the door. The blast had been powerful enough to leave a giant opening in the door, which would be the leading way for the witches to get in.

“Easiest thing I’ve had to do all day,” Nebula laughed and pulled her hands back, “With those heroes distracted by the orb, we should be able to get the Codex now, sisters!”

Gelinda and Aviana looked up from their spots on the ground. In front of them, there had been about thirty men on the ground unconscious from their attacks, not being able to handle it. With no hesitation in mind, the three witches had begun to enter the basement…

…Thus, leading to a loud alarm to fill the emergency tower.

The Commander sat up from his seat and looked over towards one of the students who was in charge of the control panel, “What’s going on!?”

“There’s been a break-in in the lower north wing,” The student spoke and immediately switched to the camera view of what was going on at the entrance.

Switching to the camera allowed for everyone in the tower to immediately see the sight of all the heroes that were once guarding the entrance being completely unconscious on the ground. Gasps filled the room - including from Natalya, Elizabeta, and Tatyana, who all looked horrified at the sight of it. 

One factor that stood out through the camera as well, was the sight of a giant hole being present in front of the entrance.

“There’s a direct path to the basement where the elite chamber is…” The Commander muttered under his breath in frustration, all while his hands were formed in tight fists. He pressed a button on his headset, speaking loud and clear to those who were still connected, _“Graduate students, beware for potential intruders! Do not let them get to the chamber! I repeat, do not let them get to the Codex inside the chamber!”_

As the alert was made aloud, flashing lights from an emergency alarm filled the school. Elizabeta and Tatyana were startled by the loud sound that came… But for Natalya, this wasn’t the case.

There was something that the Commander had said that had gotten her to freeze on the spot. She stared down at the ground with a blank expression to her face. There was one word in that sentence that stood out to her… She forgot it almost right away from how quick he was shouting it, but the way he had said it… It was as if the chamber in the school was protecting something very valuable and important.

Why did she feel like she _knew_ what it was?

In the midst of her thinking, she was completely silent and unresponsive to the panic that had formed in the tower. 

Even when the elevator behind her had opened, which had managed to catch Elizabeta and Tatyana’s attentions, Natalya was completely unphased.

_“Commander, you do realize there’s been a breech in the lower north wing, right—“_

That voice.

Natalya turned her head right around the second she had heard this voice. The first thing she had managed to make eye contact was the sight of four men in battle attire standing in the uniform, looking absolutely exhausted and stressed. The one man though that managed to catch her attention looked down at her with his bright blue eyes before his expression became shocked.

“Natalya-!?” Alfred began, clearly shocked that she was there in the first place.

“Alfred…” Natalya’s eyes were widened. She wasn’t expecting to see him so soon. Let alone, she thought he was fighting or something of the sort with the orb. The Commander did though exclaim that all third years return to campus, so it made sense as to why they were all there now.

“What are you guys doing here?” Gilbert spoke from behind the blonde and peeked his head over. The first thing he had noticed was Natalya standing there, followed by Tatyana and Elizabeta, who were equally as shocked, “Hi Tatyana. Hi meanie-head.” He said simply, looking right at Elizabeta as this was said aloud.

“Meanie-head?” Elizabeta rolled her eyes at the insult, “I could come up with better.”  


“Gil’s got a point,” Alfred placed his hands on top of Natalya’s shoulders, clearly noticing that she was startled, “How’d you guys get up here? Why are you guys here — wait.” He paused, “Never mind, I know why you guys are here. But my point stands. You shouldn’t be here. It’s way too dangerous what’s going on.”

“Sorry sweetie,” Natalya had placed a hand on top of the other’s, giving Alfred an innocent smile as she removed them off his shoulders, “I’m already involved.”

“We don’t have time to bicker about it,” Elizabeta looked over at the confused men in the elevator, “So are you guys going to stand there or move so we can get to that breach quickly?”

Elizabeta was right. The longer they stood there, the more time that was being wasted. The fact of the matter was that Alfred was worried now knowing that Natalya was there - especially since even he and his team had no idea what sort of source could be attacking the school unexpectedly. There could be no risks with someone getting hurt.

He wouldn’t forgive himself if Natalya ever got hurt by something he couldn’t protect her from.

There was a thing he had been neglecting. This being the fact that Natalya believed she was very capable of defending herself, and she emphasized this by stepping into the elevator with the men and her friends. As they were all inside, there was no arguing to it, so Mathias had been the one to break the ice by clearing his throat and speaking.

“I’m going to the other emergency tower to check the status of the damages so far,” He explained and reached into his bag. From there, he had pulled out what looked like earpieces for each fairy. He handed each one to Natalya, Elizabeta, and Tatyana, “This’ll keep you guys in contact with us and the Commander. If anything goes wrong, you tell us, and we’ll be there to back you up.”

“Sounds easy enough,” Elizabeta slipped the earpiece on while the others did the same, “Thanks. The real question is do you guys know how to get to the basement levels from here? Since I personally have no idea where we’re going,”

“Look at that,” Gilbert smirked and ran a hand through his hair, “She also doesn’t have a sense of direction.”

As this was said aloud, a gasp came from Elizabeta while she glared at the man. One foot was risen from her, resulting in her to stomp down on his foot immediately in response. Natalya rolled her eyes in annoyance when Gilbert had let out a cried pain at the action, “Could you two stop fucking around? Same question, where is the lower north wing?”

“I can’t convince ya, huh…” Alfred sighed to himself for a moment. He was still worried about her, but instead of pushing it, he nodded, “I’ll show you guys to the wing. The second this elevator opens, we book for it.”

The lower north wing was around the other side of the school. They were towards the main entrance of the school, and the basement was located all the way at the back. Just as Alfred had said, the second the elevator doors had opened, the four men and three fairies sprinted out of the elevator. Mathias broke off just as he explained to another emergency tower, leaving the six of them as a group to proceed forward.

The damages were only becoming worse by seconds.

The main entrance was taken care of. Now, all that was left was to handle the guards that surrounded the actual elite chamber. For the witches, this was easy for them to figure out, seeing that there had been a ton of students surrounding the entrance of the basement with large weapons and keeping their eyes out on every direction.

Each witch had been hiding behind a wall upon making their break-in. They were silent, waiting for a moment to see if their attack would result in another distraction of the guards going away. However, it seemed to be the opposite. Because of their attack at the entrance of the basement, this meant that more students were preparing to go in to defend the chamber. 

Now, they had to be quick.

Gelinda’s eyes glew bright while she held a hand towards the direction of the guards. All it took was one snap of her finger, and all the lights of the basement immediately had gone out within seconds. The men had looked around in panic frantically, but they remained calm as they kept their ground. Weapons were held onto tightly, all until the lights of three figures slowly creeping from hidden corners began to approach the heroes who guarded the area.

The three witches stood there in place as the guards looked at the aura of their lights. All of them had their weapons ready to defend… However, with the spell that Gelinda had cast, it wasn’t going to be the case at all.

Shadows began to creep up from underneath the men. One by one, they were all dragged down into the ground through magic. It had been a teleportation spell to send each guard miles away from the campus, that way if they were to attempt traveling back, it would take them a while due to the extremely large distance.

Aviana snapped her fingers. Instead of there being darkness, now, all the light in the room had come back. This time, leaving only the three witches in front of what looked to be a scale and objects sitting in front of it.

In order to access the chamber, there was a key. 

And Gelinda knew this immediately upon stepping forward to examine it, “This scale serves as the key to get into the elite chamber… The Dark Lord wasn’t joking about how protected the Codex had to be.”

“Should we use magic on it?” Nebula had asked while looking at the other.

“No,” Aviana shot a glare at the other before stepping forward and looking at Gelinda, “It’s booby-trapped. If we use our magic on it, it’ll bounce off of us.”

“How the hell can you tell that?” Nebula’s brows furrowed in annoyance.

“My powers are telling me it is,” Aviana explained and looked down at the objects of the scale. It seemed that the goal was to get the scale to be equal with those objects… However, only one object would serve as the key to making sure there was an equal balance, “Knowing these men, I wouldn’t be surprised too if they put a crazy trap to keep people from getting the Codex. It’s a balancing act if you look at it. Find the right weight with the object, and the door opens.”

Gelinda looked down at the objects that were placed. There had been a lot of objects… From a dagger to a scroll, to a feather - to even a book… All of them varied in weight. If Aviana stood correct about there being a trap associated with the balance, then they would have to choose the right one at the first try. There could be no room for error because if they were trapped, it would be game over to accomplishing their mission.

“The counterweight is pretty heavy from just observing the balance,” Aviana continued onwards with her explanation while looking down at one object in particular, which had been a crystal, “So the crystal would make the most logical sense. However, that’s too obvious. It must be its opposite…”

On the opposite end of the balance, there had been a large stone. This stone looked to be part of a building… And then it clicked in Gelinda’s mind. It hadn’t been just an ordinary stone - it was a piece of UHB during the destruction of the school earlier in the Spring. The witch held her hands out towards the crystal at first, but then paused as she thought, “The weight of UHB… is it physical or moral weight…” She thought to herself, “Magic weight, economical weight… the weight of knowledge… Wait,” She looked over at the two witches upon having a realization, “The heroes of this school are masters at weapons. It could be the object shaped as a sword, but that’s way too easy… Elijah is a wizard, and wizards follow a path of morality.”

It was all beginning to make sense. Gelinda smirked to herself at the realization as she reached towards not the sword or crystal - but what looked to be a small sculpture of a simple wizard. She held onto it with a firm grip before turning to face the other two witches who nodded in approval and understanding. And so, the witch approached the scale and placed the sculpture in.

The three witches waited in anticipation as the scale began to adjust. At first, there is a moment of panic seeing that the balance had been going back and forth…

…until each part of the scale had adjusted to being at equal weight.

Underneath the witches, violently rumbling came. Gelinda, Aviana, and Nebula had kept their ground as they stood in place and avoided falling from the shaking. This shaking mainly occurring due to the floor beginning to open up to them, revealing a staircase directly to the chamber that was lingering underneath the school.

The staircase was long and grand, enough for the three to walk down all together.

“Fucking easy.” Laughter came from Gelinda as she took a moment to admire her intelligence for figuring out the trick. Soon enough, she began walking towards the staircase, “Let’s go.”

Walking down the staircase, it was dark. It was impossible to see at first, but the more they progressed down, the more light came into play as they crept closer and closer to the object that glew in powerful energy.

In a glass case, the object that the witches had desired to have possession of standing in place.

The Codex had been a beautiful item. The powerful magic that radiated within it had the witches pause in place from being startled at its magical energy. It glew a bright light as they all walked closer to it. This object, which had been made out of gold and had an inscription written along the edges of it in a different language, floated in the glass chamber.

The glass chamber had been securely held by a table with gold engravings covering it. Despite its beauty, this didn’t stop Gelinda from approaching the glass chamber and rising her foot to shatter the glass into pieces.

The glass flew in different directions as it was shattered. Aviana and Nebula had stepped back to avoid making contact with it, all while it had scattered all throughout the floor. The opening of the chamber allowed for the Codex to be exposed to the three witches, resulting in Gelinda to be the one to retrieve it first.

“The first piece of the Codex…” Gelinda slowly reached for the item and grasped onto it. As it made contact with her fingers, the glowing from its power immediately stopped due to the dark magic that lingered from her. She held onto it firmly while pulling out the object, which as she did so, it was revealed to be a big object, “…In the palm of my hand…”

She pulled it out and looked over at Aviana and Nebula who were speechless. When first being told about the Codex, they hadn’t believed it was real. But with how determined Lord Demande had been with it, as he had proof, they proceeded with following his order and retrieving it. 

None of the witches had known what was Lord Demande’s form of proof. He had expressed that he had it and had seen the Codex with his own eyes before. However, that the three weren’t ready to learn the truth until they all had a chance to see it in person.

Now that it was in their hands, they had to return to Shadow Haunt, quickly.

“Let’s get the hell out of here,” Gelinda whispered under her breath before running up toward the staircase so they could escape.

It was while the witches had been handling the trap to open the elite chamber and running out of it, that it allowed for the three heroes and three fairies to immediately begin to catch up to the entrance. The first thing they were all exposed to had been the horrific sight of the students that were once guarding the entrance, already being tended to emergency medical staff.

The sight having specifically Tatyana to gasp out loud in horror, “What happened-!?”

“Alfred,” Natalya looked over at the other who tried to avoid staring at the sight while they continued to run in, “ _What_ is the Codex? And don’t deny it, I heard what the Commander said.”

“I don’t know,” He spoke truthfully at the other as he turned to look at her. Based on the expression he was making, he was telling the truth. Alfred had no idea what object had to be protected… Let alone, why anyone would attack the entirety of UHB just to get it, “All I just know is that whoever is after it, we have to stop them immediately,”

The Codex… The name was ringing in her head over and over again the more she played it out in her mind. Something about it had felt familiar about it, but she couldn’t narrow it down. Natalya had never heard of it her entire life until that very moment. The thing was that despite never hearing of it, it managed to have a bigger impact than it seemed.

Could it have been something she read from a book? Something that she had heard of at one point in her life but completely forgot about it?

The more they ran, the more she felt her powers beginning to tell her otherwise.

It was as the group had been running, Natalya had muttered under her breath one simple word to start the build-up that was taking place in her heart. She jumped into the air as she did so; startling the men at first, until they realized what she was doing.

_“Charmix…”_

In seconds, the clothing attire she had been once wearing completely changed to the form that they were all familiar with already. The beautiful sparkling blue top and skirt, the ankle-length boots, the blue sleeves that only covered her forearm, the gem that rested on her chest, the tiara on her hair, as well as the make-up and her hair becoming curled at the ends… To end it all off, a pair of wings shaped similarly to a butterfly growing from her back as she was now flying down the hallway of the basement.

And so, Tatyana and Elizabeta had looked at each other for a moment before following along with the other in unison, “ _Charmix!”_

A bright light formed around their bodies as they ran. All it took was less for a second for both of their appearances to change drastically from the clothing they were once wearing.

Elizabeta, whose hair was down and curled, had been pulled halfway back with barrettes in the shape of pink roses. On her top, a sparkling green sash ran down her chest as it wrapped around her bust and waist; connecting with the green skirt that had reached down to the middle of her thigh. Behind her as well, a pair of sparkling wings growing from her back as well.

A pink dress in the form of a pink sparkling tulip formed around Tatyana’s body. Her hair, which had been braided to the side, had beautiful vines decorated along the braid. The pink boots she wore went up to her ankles in length, she wore sleeves as part of her dress that reached up to her upper arm, all while her shoulders were still revealed. She wore a pair of flower-shaped earrings, all while a choker was around her neck. A pair of wings in a translucent green grew from her back as well.

The group began to move faster with the fairies going up ahead. With the entrance of the basement being open, the door was already opened, which allowed for them to see the sight of what was going on - including the staircase that had grown from underground.

And three familiar heads beginning to walk out of the staircase with the object in hand.

“Gelinda!?” Natalya choked out from being startled.

“What the…” Alfred reached for his sword immediately on the belt of his uniform; pressing a button to extend it, “So the intruders were witches, huh…”

“Those three again!?” Elizabeta began in annoyance while lowering herself to the ground, glaring right at the three, “What the hell is going on?”

A large smirk formed on Gelinda’s lips at the sight of this. Something about seeing the shock fill all of their faces was very amusing to her while she maintained her grip around the Codex. She stood at the top of the staircase, looking at the group with a chuckle, “What are you all supposed to be, a rescue team for the Codex? How cute. Did Elijah send you?”

“Too bad you’re all too late,” Aviana responded and gave a brief bow to the ground, “Send our deepest apologies to Headmaster Elijah, won’t you? We’re taking something that’s needed by the dark lord.”

“I’m sorry ladies,” Alfred had taken a step forward now with his sword in hand, “But I’m going to have to take that back immediately. You’re all technically wanted under the Magix authority. And I _really_ don’t want to have to hit a few girls because that isn’t really polite, is it?.”

“Ooh, so scary.” Nebula laughed in response, “Come on, try and take the Codex from us, then.”

The taunting in laughter had him narrow his eyes a bit. Alfred was speaking the truth about not wanting to hit them, especially with Natalya watching, but he wouldn’t admit to it. And so, he looked over at Gilbert and Antonio, who had already brought out their own weapons, before beginning to charge at the three witches with the objective of grabbing the Codex.

The thing was that the witches hadn’t been expecting the heroes to launch their attacks on them. Immediately, Aviana had flown up into the air, holding her hands directly at Gilbert at first to launch her first attack while speaking in another language, “ _Emanoura hypthoica, sluvin afariar!”_

Dark shadows slowly began to rise from the ground right at the man’s direction. As this was happening, Elizabeta felt her eyes widen as she flew towards Gilbert immediately with her hands held out to form a barrier to block the shadows from touching him. She had learned from one of her classes how to counter dark magic, and thus, held out her hand where a bright glow had formed in the shape of light while she countered the spell, “ _Light!”_

The shadows that had formed immediately began to fade into dust as this happened. Aviana, who looked angered, looked directly down at Elizabeta all while Gilbert stood there in shock at the fairy.

“Wow, uh…” Gilbert looked at Elizabeta, “Thanks—“

“Whatever,” Elizabeta looked at the hero with a small eye-roll. She jumped into the air and looked directly at Aviana with a smirk, “Now are you going to stand there like a vegetable, or are you going to help me here!?”

Gilbert chuckled at the response that was given by Elizabeta. Something about her helping him and suddenly changing behavior looked… Cute to him. He looked up at the fairy and held onto his grip around his sword, “Yeah yeah, calm your tits,” He began before swinging his sword right at the witch’s direction. 

Aviana, who noticed this attack in her direction, immediately dodged away so she wouldn’t take the hit.

Nebula glared down at Tatyana with a small smile grown to her lips. It wasn’t a nice smile either - one that looked as if there had been evil, malicious thoughts behind it. The witch held her hands right at the fairy’s direction, chanting out loud while the sound of thunder clashed in the room of the basement, “ _Shatter!”_

What sounded like a horrific shriek came from Tatyana upon hearing this. For being the fairy of nature, hearing the negative sounds of the environment clearly brought discomfort to her. It was why out of instinct that she had flown up into the air with her hands clutched into fists; bright light forming around her while she focused her magic.

_“Vines of life!”_ She had shouted and held her hands directly towards Nebula. Within seconds, large vines had grown directly from underground. 

Since they were underground technically, she managed to make contact with the plants that were alive underneath them. The vines were large and powerful enough to not only wrap around Nebula but with her hand moving, she had directed the vines to go straight to Aviana and wrap around her immediately.

Thus, leading only one witch left while Aviana and Nebula’s angered screams filled the air.

Gelinda watched the scene take place were Natalya and Alfred stood by each other. It amusing her greatly to see a couple fighting side by side, to the point where she had slipped the Codex into a bag that was being held by her side, “I’ve been waiting for this moment for months since you sent me to that World of Peace,” She growled underneath her breath right at Natalya, who was completely unphased.

Instead, the anger that came from Gelinda worked out in Natalya’s favor.

In her hands, she had looked down and focused her magical energy. The one thing that she had learned earlier from that class with Professor Ayron was about the Sphere of Truth… This sphere was powerful enough to not only get someone to confess their darkest secrets but also had enough powerful magic to knock someone out.

_“Sphere of Truth…”_ Natalya whispered to herself with her eyes closed as she focused. Just as she watched with Monika when the demo took place earlier that day, it wasn’t long until a bright orb had formed in her hands. Relief formed on her face before she noticed Alfred about to swing his sword at Gelinda, which gave her an idea, “Alfred!” She called out, which caught the attention of the man before she threw the orb right at him, “Batter’s up!”

It all clicked in his head immediately the second Alfred had heard this. At first, he was confused why Natalya was distracting him, but the second he had made eye contact with the bright orb of magic, it all clicked. He smirked and held his sword firmly in his hands before swinging it not at Gelinda, but right at the orb which was launched at her direction. If that meant he didn’t have to hit a girl, he was all for it, “Homerun just for you, babe.”

Gelinda’s eyes widened the second she saw the action take place. She had been at first prepared to take on a sword hit from Alfred, followed by the attack from Natalya… But the fact that the two had coordinated one attack for her, she found herself gasping as the orb was hit right against her chest; launching her across the room to the other side. A powerful blast was heard upon her body making an impact, thus leading for her to drop to the ground.

A bright light surrounded her body as she laid there, groaning in pain and discomfort. That was when Natalya knew the spell had worked, resulting in her to fly over to Gelinda and linger over her body.

“Tell me what the Codex is!” She had shouted at her in a demanding tone of voice, “Now! What is it and what does the Dark Lord want with it?! Tell me the truth!”

As the question was asked, at first, Gelinda had bit down on her tongue and turned her head away. However, the positive, powerful magic that was on her body forced her to turn right back to Natalya and look right up at her. She couldn’t control herself… And so, the words came spilling out, “The Codex is part of four keys necessary to open the Realm of Relix,” She screamed, struggling to keep herself from staying quiet, but she kept talking as the spell took place, “There was originally one key to the realm, however, King Viktor had broken it into four keys to ensure no magical beings ever traveled through it! The Realm of Relix is a time and space portal that will allow anyone from the future and past to travel back and forth to. The Dark Lord intends on opening the portal to travel in time!”

Loud panting and gasps could be heard from the witch as the detail was explained. Natalya lowered herself to the ground when she listened to this - unsure of how to process it all. It was a lot of detailed information… She didn’t even know that there was a time and space portal that existed in the magic dimension. Let alone, why the Codex had such important meaning in her heart, “…my father created the Codex?”

“Yes, you stupid Pixie!” Gelinda screamed once more and tilted her head back, trying to resist the spell. However, the spell was powerful enough to keep her going, “Your father created the keys to make sure no one enters the portal! The Dark Lord intends to enter it in order to obtain possession of the magical universe because clearly, it’s _impossible_ to get the dragon flame and heart of ice!”

The spell was taking too much effect on her. It was absolutely painful to fight against, which had her screaming more and more as the seconds continued onward.

How come… She was never told of this? Natalya stood there, completely shocked. She never knew about a time and space portal, let alone, that her father had broken its key into multiple pieces to make sure no one was able to get it. If the Sphere of Truth was accurate with making Gelinda tell her the truth, then she wasn’t lying…

…If the Dark Lord was planning to attempt taking over the magical universe, how does time and space work in that situation? 

Gelinda was having enough with the spell. She couldn’t bear it anymore, and she had to get out of there immediately with the Codex before she continued to spill more information to Natalya. Her hands were in fists as she slammed them down into the ground, trying to connect back to her magical energy…

…Only resulting in dark magic to linger in the air.

Her eyes glew of power as she screamed once more in frustration, standing up and shouting to herself, “ _Sphere of Truth, remove yourself from thy body!”_

The orb that had once hit her immediately burst from her chest the second the counter-spell was said aloud. In seconds, the orb that had magic disappeared into thin air, leaving Gelinda to break out of the trap that she was once in mentally and holding her hands right at Natalya’s direction. 

Specifically, towards Natalya.

_“Sleepless for a hundred years!”_

A powerful blast of magic had shot directly from the palm of her hand right at Natalya’s direction. 

Alfred’s eyes widened at the sight of the magic coming in this way, thus resulting in him doing the only thing he could think of at the moment…

Which was jumping right in front of Natalya out of pure instinct.

The spell that was cast took one hit against his chest; launching him directly against a wall where his back had taken the hit. He had been unconscious, to the point where when his body had slowly lowered to the ground, he was unresponsive.

The sight of this, making Natalya’s heart drop on the spot.

Gelinda stood there with an angered expression drawn to her face. Looking at the hero that had taken the hit, she smirked for a moment before looking at Natalya, “Sorry about your boyfriend. He’ll be asleep for a hundred years, Princess. Good luck with that.”

It wasn’t any ordinary spell. It was a spell that even she didn’t know - but someone like Gelinda, who was a magical being, was fully well aware of. It had to be a spell that was illegal to use, because the only thing she could think of doing was dropping the fight then and there as she screamed out in panic, “ALFRED!”

This was the distraction that Gelinda needed now. Natalya wasn’t paying attention to her, and it seemed that the other two witches hadn’t been able to successfully take care of the other heroes and fairies. She sighed in annoyance and reached to her wand that was on her waist; grabbing onto it and waving it in the air.

“I’m done here.” She said aloud, managing to catch everyone’s attention who was conscious in the room, “ _Escapus!”_

Dark magic filled the room for a moment, drawing all light out of it. The spell flashed for only a second, but a second enough to get Aviana and Nebula to escape the traps while the witches had disappeared into the air. It was a transportation spell that Gelinda had cast, thus, allowing for her and the other two witches to escape on the spot.

Leaving the fairies and heroes, completely empty-handed with the Codex - gone.

It was at that point, Natalya didn’t care at all. She didn’t care that the witches had escaped - all her mind could focus on was Alfred. She had flown directly to him and dropped to her knees; looking right at him in panic, “Alfred?” She began, looking at him as he was completely unresponsive.

That was when she noticed something.

His chest… It hadn’t been rising. 

The impact from the spell that Gelinda cast - it was a spell to put him to sleep a hundred years… But the impact he had taken from hitting the wall, he had to have gotten hurt in the process of it. 

Natalya dropped to her knees and brought her ear near his mouth to see if she could hear any breathing. There was nothing… Then came with her reaching for his wrist and checking for a pulse.

Again, nothing.

“H-He isn’t breathing-!” All panic began to form inside her to the point where she could feel tears beginning to form in her eyes. No - this couldn’t be happening in front of her! All it was had been a stupid spell enough to knock him out… But the damage was served.

That was when she remembered… While she was a magical being, he was a magical being as well… But, he was mainly a human. A human with any normal abilities as someone from Earth, with a lot of training being done to prepare him to be a hero.

All she could think of doing then and there… Was move beside him and place her hands on his chest. And thus, came the pumping. She formed her hands into fists, pressing up and down just as she was trained on Earth years ago in case of any emergency.

Performing CPR.

“I-I’m going to go get help!” Antonio had watched the sight of this with his eyes widened in horror. All it took was a few seconds, and soon enough, he had sprinted out of the basement with Gilbert to see if he could get in contact with one of the on-campus medical personnel.

Despite hearing these words, Natalya only continued with the chest compressions. She didn’t even know if she was doing it right, but all she found herself was doing was panicking at the moment. Tears began to fill in her eyes seeing how still he was, but she kept going. Thirty compressions, followed by tilting his chin slightly and lowering her mouth down against his mouth to blow two puffs of air.

But again, there was nothing.

“Alfred, please…” Natalya continued to give the chest compressions; tears streaming down her cheeks, “You need to wake up… Alfred, please… I’m not going to let you go until you do!”

No, she was determined… She didn’t know how long it would take for the medical personnel to get there, but it was taking way too long. Her arms were getting tired, but she kept going with the two puffs of air and more chest compressions.

“Alfred!” She found herself crying out in a begging tone of voice. There were things that Natalya thought she would never be afraid of seeing… But something like this, seeing Alfred who was just fine a matter of seconds ago, taking a hit for her… 

…He had taken the hit for her.

He was protecting her.

“You shouldn’t have taken that hit! Why did you have to protect me!?” Another loud cry came from her out of eagerness and frustration in the moment, “Please, I need you, Alfred! Wake up!”

The frustration that came from Natalya was noticed by Tatyana and Elizabeta, who had already rushed over to assist her with what she had been doing. That was until as they approached her closer, a bright light had burst in the room.

The light had been so bright that both Tatyana and Elizabeta had shrieked from being startled at the powerful magic that had suddenly filled the air. The magic had been so strong, that it felt as if there had been a calming aura filling the room.

“What’s going on!?” Elizabeta began in a panic while holding her hands over her eyes to prevent herself from going blind from the bright light that surrounded both Natalya and Alfred, “I can’t see anything-!”

It was hard to tell. Tatyana, slowly lowered her hands from her eyes and squinted to see if she could get a sight of what was going on. That was when it began to take shape in front of her - the visualization of what she was exactly seeing, “N-Natalya’s body, it’s transforming-!”

The sight of this was something that both of the fairies hadn’t been expecting to see.

The bright light had resulted in another transformation sequence to take place. All it took was less than a minute for the beautiful fairy form that Natalya once had, to turn into one that Tatyana was more familiar with than Elizabeta.

Natalya remained kneeling on the ground. Her blonde hair had tripled in length compared to its original length, all while being curled at the ends. Barrettes with sparkling crystal diamond had pulled her hair on each side halfway back, while a white rose rested on the back of her head. On her eyelids, white eyeshadow glistened under the light, all while she wore a pink lip. On her ears, a pair of earrings dangled from her earlobes made out of gold, with a symbol of the dragon flame and heart of ice resting on the bottom of the accessory.

Around her neck, she wore the locket that her mother had given her at birth.

On her body, her fairy attire had transformed into a beautiful, long, white gown. The gown covered down to her feet as white lace ruffled at the seams. Around her bust, a gold chain kept it securely in place while lace covered her shoulders to secure the gown in place. Behind her rear, a giant bow made out of silk secured the gown around her body.

Bracelets around her wrists consisted of pearls. On the top of her head, she wore a tiara that had been given to her at birth.

A tiara that symbolized her role within that dimension.

The bright light slowly began to lessen itself as the transformation sequence had slowly come to an end. Elizabeta and Tatyana - who were absolutely shocked - couldn’t help but to notice one thing in addition to Natalya’s change of transformation.

And that instead of continuing the compressions against Alfred’s chest, in her hands, Natalya had been holding onto what looked like a crystal. It was a crystal that they had never seen before, but it was one that belonged to Natalya.

A crystal that her mother said to protect for her entire life until she was ready to pass it onto the next future guardian.

Natalya’s eyes slowly opened while she looked down at the crystal. Tears continued to stream down her cheeks as the emotions of fear and anxiety continued to take place. Her heart was breaking then and there… She refused to let Alfred’s heart stop like this.

He risked his life in order to protect her…

…she wasn’t going to let him get away with it that easily.

_“My beloved…”_ Natalya had whispered underneath her breath while continuing to stare at the crystal that shined brightly in her grasp, _“You are not destined to leave… You are the only one I love…Please, wake up…”_

The voice that she had was soothing. Calming - which was one thing that Tatyana and Elizabeta hadn’t been experienced with. It was as if they weren’t with Natalya at that moment…

…It had been the Princess.

“Princess Natasha…” Tatyana gasped underneath her breath in the realization of what was going on, “That’s not Natalya… That’s Natasha—“

Natalya’s eyes were closed now. She had completely blocked off the other voices that were in the room while she held the crystal. She knew what to do, which she had slowly done by holding the crystal towards the direction of Alfred’s chest where his heart had been located.

_“Powers of the dragon flame and heart of ice, heal this man as I beg in aid… Bring my love back to me. He is my light…”_

A bright light had formed from the crystal as this was said aloud. Tatyana and Elizabeta shielded their eyes once more as the spell was being cast, which within seconds, they were greeted to the sight of Natalya holding onto Alfred’s head while the crystal was floating over his body. 

Magic slowly surrounded his body while the spell began to take place. It was an incantation that Natalya was casting all while focusing her magical energy into it. The bright light eventually extended to her, resulting in her hair and gown to slowly begin moving in the air while her hands continued to glow and glow with powerful magic.

_“Breathe…”_ She whispered once more while focusing on the incantation, “ _Come back to me…”_

The light slowly began to lessen itself after a moment. It was from there that while Natalya kept her hands around Alfred’s head to securely protect it, his eyes had begun to flutter.

And slowly, the familiar bright blue orbs that belonged to him began to open.

His vision was blurry. Everything was blurry to him that it took only seconds for him to take in a few breaths before blinking. As his focus began to come back to his vision, that was when Alfred had seen it. Lingering right over him had been Natalya’s face practically stricken in tears. 

But then came to his realization of her appearance being drastically changed as well.

“Hey…” A hand reached up to touch her face. Alfred felt himself slowly beginning to wake up more and more the longer he stared up at Natalya, now beginning to feel himself worry at the sight of her appearance. How come she looked so scared and heartbroken? “Why are you crying?”

“Alfred…” Her tone was in a whisper. It was at that point, Natalya couldn’t stop herself in the moment. She was so scared, but also angered by Gelinda, that she found herself just… Exploding in anger but also fear. 

Tatyana and Elizabeta had rushed over now upon seeing that Alfred was awake. The spell that Natalya had cast not only was a healing spell, but it was a spell to heal everything surrounding them. 

It included not only those who were injured such as Alfred, but the heroes who had once been fighting to protect the chamber also were healed and had awoken while in the process of getting medical care. Their wounds were healed, all trace of injuries were gone… 

…At the same time, all damages towards the school were fixed as well. Parts of the school that had taken damage from the magic sphere were entirely repaired - as if there had never been an attack in the first place.

“That healing spell you used—” Elizabeta spoke out in a small pant upon rushing over, “T-That was amazing! It healed everything! The school, us, and even the heroes that were hurt—“

For Elizabeta, this was her first time ever seeing such true powerful magic. All her life as a fairy, she had known many guardian fairies that had tutored her what she knew… But the power that radiated from Natalya was nowhere near the level of a guardian fairy. 

The crystal that had been floating over Alfred had slowly lowered itself down against him. He didn’t notice it at first due to being focused on Natalya specifically. Seeing her so sad made him sad… But, he had no idea what had happened. All he remembered was feeling pain before everything went dark. 

She was the first thing he had woken up to see.

Natalya continued to look down at him with her face being flushed red. It was at this point that she had used all of her magical energy, to the point where she found herself beginning to shake. It genuinely scared her what had happened. It was as if the sight of seeing Alfred - practically dead for a second in front of her - had resulted in a trauma burst of power to erupt in her.

This amount of power resulting in her eyes slowly roll to the back of her head while her eyelids slowly closed shut. Natalya felt her entire body relax as she went limp. Something about seeing Alfred awake was the only thing she needed to see… And with using that much power, she was exhausted to the point where she couldn’t keep her eyes open.

Fainting was the one thing she hadn’t expected to do. Let alone, for those who were surrounding her to see.

All she could think of was feeling relieved about Alfred. However, in the back of her mind, what Gelinda had told her earlier continued to linger. 

_The Codex…_

_Four pieces…_

_…The Realm of Relix…_

“Natalya-!” Tatyana gasped and immediately reached out her arms to try and catch her.

Alfred noticed this right away and pushed himself up despite feeling sore; catching the girl before she had taken a huge hit to the ground. He kept his arms around her, looking down at her for a moment in confusion on what had happened. That was when he began to notice her drastic change of appearance… The beautiful gown, the long hair, the jewels, and the tiara on her head…

…Her powers had awoken at the moment. 

It was during this time as well that Gilbert and Antonio had returned with medical staff. However, what they were more surprised about was seeing Alfred awake with Natalya, who was entirely unconscious in her arms.

“What the—“ Gilbert approached the couple and looked down at the ground, “What the heck happened?”

“I don’t know,” Alfred responded quickly and continued to look down at Natalya. She looked exhausted. The expression on her face as well emphasized the fact that she seemed to be extremely worried. Did something happen to him that resulted in her body to go unconscious like this? “I just… woke up, and this happened.”

Slowly, he had pushed himself up from the ground all while keeping his arms around Natalya. He hadn’t noticed the crystal that had fallen on his lap, but instead, prioritized his focus on the unconscious girl. He used one arm to support her back, while the other supported her legs before he looked over at the medical staff who were equally in shock to be present in front of the Princess.

“I’m fine,” Alfred responded and looked at Natalya once more, “I can bring her to the infirmary.”  
  
“You _sure_ you’re alright, man?” Antonio followed-up to this claim with a concerned expression on his face, “You weren’t breathing at all earlier, and now you’re suddenly fine?”

He wasn’t breathing… So something must’ve happened that he didn’t remember at all. Alfred looked down at Natalya’s face once more. That was why she looked so horrified and upset. The thing that had happened to him resulted in her sadness and fear to spark something in her. 

But, that spark being enough to use a healing spell to not only heal him but everything surrounding him.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” Alfred smiled down at Natalya, not paying attention for a moment before looking up, “She took care of me. And now, I need to be there for her to take care of her."

It was an argument that Antonio wasn’t going to dispute with as he nodded in understanding. It was at this point that Alfred had slowly begun walking out of the basement toward the exit; keeping his grip around Natalya’s body while bringing her directly to the infirmary to get the appropriate medical care.

Stares came in their direction as he walked. After all, no one had expected to see what was once a fairy enter the basement to turn into a Princess all of a sudden. Those who had watched Alfred carry her had to stop in their tracks and find themselves bowing to her, despite her unconscious state out of pure appreciation for she was the one to heal the school after a sudden attack by the witches.

Though just before stepping out of the basement, Tatyana had noticed something earlier drop from Alfred’s lap. He didn’t seem to notice it, but she did right away.

She stayed back a moment while Gilbert and Elizabeta followed the couple and medical personnel outside of the basement. From there, she silently approached where Alfred had been once laying and looked down to make eye contact with what looked to be a beautiful gem. If she hadn’t noticed it fall from his lap, someone else could have found it.

The question was - what had it been?

She had never seen it before. That moment with Alfred was the very first time she had seen a crystal come from Natalya. It had to belong to her, right?

Tatyana knelt down to the ground and slowly reached to pick up the crystal. However, upon touching, a burning feeling filled her finger tips as she released a gasp and dropped it.

Just picking it up, it was painfully, burning hot. It was as if it were engulfed by an invisible flame that radiated with magic... No being could touch it, including her. And she had learned that the hard way with the burn she had gotten on her finger tips. 

Taking a moment to relax herself from the sudden pain, she couldn’t help but to notice the crystal was a beautiful just based on observing it. It had been small, but it had been an oval shape enough to be held in the palm of one’s hand. The crystal glistened under the light as magic radiated from it… A powerful energy that she hadn’t been familiar with at all.

Holding out her hands, Tatyana watched as a small spark of magic formed in the palm of her hand. All it took was a few seconds, before soon, what looked like a small vine formed around it. The sounds of sizzling could be heard as the vine held onto the crystal, but she couldn’t risk hurting herself if it meant the item was going to burn her badly. Soon she turned around quickly to follow where Alfred had gone with Natalya. The vine followed just behind her, keeping in mind she needed to get the crystal to Natalya quickly before it burned through the plant.

“Don’t worry…” She smiled while whispering in a soft tone of voice. She sprinted fast since she had been a bit behind from everyone who had already been on their way to the infirmary.

_ “…I’ll make sure this gets back to you, Princess Natasha.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY made it to chapter 5! This took a bit longer to get done - I am so sorry for the delay. *bows over and over again*.
> 
> I am in graduate school, so I did have to prioritize my work/school before getting back to writing. As an apology, I've decided to upload the chapter a bit earlier than the 09/05 posting! 
> 
> Nothing 18+ this time similarly to the last chapter. Instead, this chapter focuses on foreshadowing some events that'll be taking place later on in the story... Make sure to take note, especially towards the end of this chapter (and Monika hints a foreshadow as well, hehe). I have a few things planned toward the later chapters that do have a few twists, so feel free to buckle your seatbelt and prepare for the ride!
> 
> As for when chapter 6 will be released, I am going to set myself a date of 09/12/2020. If anything changes, please keep checking the page for any updates!
> 
> For now though, I'll see you then! <3
> 
> Thank you for following the story, and I hope you enjoy! <3


	7. Welcome to Earth!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tatyana knelt down to the ground and slowly picked up the crystal. It was a beautiful gem just based on observing it. It had been small, but it had been an oval shape enough to be held in the palm of one’s hand. The crystal glistened under the light as magic radiated from it… A powerful energy that she hadn’t been familiar with at all.
> 
> Holding out her hands, Tatyana watched as a small spark of magic formed in the palm of her hand. All it took was a few seconds, before soon, what looked like a soft handkerchief had formed. She had slowly wrapped the crystal inside it and held onto it firmly, before turning around quickly to follow where Alfred had gone with Natalya.
> 
> “Don’t worry…” She smiled while whispering in a soft tone of voice. She sprinted fast since she had been a bit behind from everyone who had already been on their way to the infirmary.
> 
> “…I’ll make sure this gets back to you, Princess Natasha.”

It _was all dark. An empty mind with no figures, other than the shadows that formed as she took a step forward._

_A cool breeze brushed against her skin as she walked. She didn’t know where she was but did manage to reach the consensus that she was in a dream. Her body felt exhausted, her eyes were heavy - there was no other reason why she would be alone in a dark place._

_A place where suddenly in her heart, she felt fear._

_Natalya looked up from the ground upon noticing a light. She took a few steps forward; watching it as it came into focus to allow her to see what was going on._

_“Bring my love back to me… He is my light…!”_

_Her eyes widened at hearing her voice fill the empty space. It echoed over and over again while the bright light continued to take shape. There, she was exposed to the scene that she had experienced earlier. A nightmare where she had seen Alfred unresponsive and unconscious, all hey while her powers were at a full level._

_She had cast a healing spell that she didn’t even know was possible to do. One that she had connected deep in her heart, begging for a way to bring back Alfred and not losing him. One of her biggest fears was losing the ones she had loved… First, her adoptive mother, then to learn that her family from Sparx was missing…_

_…she didn’t want to lose anyone else close in her heart._

_Tears began to well up in her eyes as Natalya stood there in the empty space. She felt so relieved… Relieved to see Alfred wake up, asking why she was crying…_

_…to the point where her exhaustion had managed to catch up and have her fall unconscious._

_Glancing at her body before she fell unconscious, Natalya felt her heart drop the second she noticed her appearance._

_The beautiful gown, with matching jewels and pearls… She only allowed for her true form to take fruition if she was scared or in agony. Or, it was the opposite if she had been connecting to her deep power at a time of need. The time with Alfred was one of those moments._

_Only twice within that year, had she transformed into the Princess. First was with Gelinda back in the Spring, the second, being with Alfred._

_She dropped down to her knees and brought her hands up to her head. These powers she had… They were more powerful than she thought they were. That was the dangerous part of it all. She didn’t know if she could control it. Before casting the healing spell, she had no idea that she had the capabilities of casting powerful magic to save people._

_It led her to wonder in that dream state if there were more things she hadn’t discovered about her powers quite yet._

_“Alfred…” She whispered before closing her eyes before soon, the dark shadows began to disappear around her._

* * *

“…Al…fred…”

The voice coming from the bed had those who were sitting around her immediately glance over the girl who had fallen unconscious. Since being picked up in the basement of UHB and brought to the infirmary, she was tended to right away. There were no injuries that Natalya had experienced, but she was very exhausted and needed to rest her magical abilities.

With exhaustion, came the long slumber from fainting. 

This didn’t mean that her friends wouldn’t leave her alone in that infirmary.

Alfred had moved the seat he had been sitting in closer to the girl who was in bed. She was talking in her sleep… Was she waking up after an hour of being asleep? He reached over with a hand and slowly began to run his fingers through her hair. Despite everything that had happened - including her fainting, she hadn’t returned back to her human form.

Tatyana and Elizabeta had already been back in their human appearance… But as for Natalya, she laid there, entirely transformed into a completely different being. A being that radiated positive, powerful energy that anyone could radiate from her.

“Shh, it’s okay…” Alfred slowly whispered under his breath in a comforting tone of voice. The tiara she wore was removed and placed on the bedside next to her bed all while he continued to run his fingers through her hair soothingly, “I’m here, honey…”

The soothing tone of voice that came from him did have her body relax. It felt like she was back home on Earth after a tough day… Getting that comfort from her father when she was sad about something. He would go up to her room, sit down with her, and do the exact same thing that Alfred had been doing.

But in the case of it being him - the one she loved - it was a whole new experience.

Her eyes slowly opened at that point. The expression on her face showed that Natalya was exhausted, but enough to reveal that she was conscious at that point. Tatyana stood up from her seat and pushed her chair towards the corner of the room, “I’ll go get the nurse,” She spoke in a gentle tone of voice before turning around and stepping out of the room.

Alfred hadn’t moved from his spot at all. The second his eyes had made contact with the violet-blue ones that belonged to Natalya, he smiled and continued to gently pet her head, “Hey sweet pea…” He lowered himself down to her, “…How are you feeling?”

How was she feeling? Everything around her felt tight… But she didn’t force herself to get up. Instead, she blinked for a moment and looked around the room. The room she was in looked like the average infirmary. Beds, medicine, some monitors set up… So she was still at UHB.

The entire scene that had taken place in her dream - it was real?

“Tired…” Were the first words that managed to come out of her throat in response to the question. 

Natalya sighed to herself and looked down, before bringing her hand to her face. That was when she had begun to notice the accessories on her wrists, followed by the feeling of the gown on her body. She glanced down, taking note of her change in appearance, followed by the feeling of make-up on her face and her hair being styled in particular.

That was when it began to fully hit. 

She slowly began to push herself up from the bed. Alfred pulled his hand back to help her do so, followed by reaching for a cup of water that was set out for her when she had woken up. He brought the cup to her lips, which she didn’t push away, and helped her drink while she spoke, “Yeah… The nurse said you might feel like that after what you pulled back there.”

“Pulled… What back there?” Natalya responded all while taking small sips, “…I’m assuming it’s something grand because… I haven’t, well…” She motioned to herself, “Transformed like this since the Spring.”

“A crazy amount of energy, that’s what,” Elizabeta, who had been seated on one of the couches in the room with Gilbert, looked up at the other. She was still absolutely amazed by what she had witnessed, which was why she didn’t hesitate to emphasize this while standing up, “You’re… Really amazing, Natalya. That healing spell - how did you do it? You saved Alfred, the entire school, the heroes that were injured— I—“

All of these words didn’t make sense to Natalya at all. She conducted a healing spell, yet she didn’t remember nor realize it? The girl looked down at herself after finishing the cup of water and closed her eyes in thought, “I don’t know,” She answered truthfully, “All I remember was being really scared and sad… And it just, my powers… Came to me instinctively and took over. It’s as if my mind automatically knew what to do, and I allowed for it to do what it did,”

That was how amazing the dragon flame and heart of ice was. While she was still learning how to use her powers day by day, she always did learn something new about them from time to time. However, one thing that was important in addition to her powers, had her gasp as she tensed up on the bed.

“Mama’s crystal—“ Were the first words she gasped underneath her breath while frantically looking around in panic.

The sudden panic that came from the girl had Alfred’s brows furrow in confusion. Why did she look so startled? As well as worried about something? “What?”

She tensed up once more. That was right… No one could know about the crystal. No, it was a secret that she had promised her mother that she would protect at all times. It was the key to her powers - the one thing that she was sworn to protect even before becoming a guardian fairy.

Elizabeta took notice that the other had been looking for something before speaking, “Oh,” She began, “Tatyana did find something of yours. It’s in that handkerchief. She didn’t say what it was, but it’s there.”

The second this was said, Natalya had turned her head over to the nightstand. Just as Elizabeta had stated, the handkerchief was there with something bulging inside it. She sighed in relief as she grasped onto it and held it firmly in her hands to get its shape. 

Yes, that was the crystal.

Natalya didn’t say anything while squeezing it in the palm of her hand. For a moment, she focused on her powers despite being weak; allowing for the light to glow around her body. All it took was a few seconds for the beautiful appearance of her being the Princess to change back to the casual attire she had worn before. A blouse, a pair of jeans, boots, and her hair being pulled halfway back with a ribbon.

The handkerchief, which now had nothing wrapped inside it, was placed flat on the empty nightstand. After the transformation sequence had taken place on that bed, her tiara had also disappeared as well.

“Remind me to thank her…” Natalya sighed for a moment before laying herself back down. The crystal was back with her, and that was all that mattered. It would be with her at no matter cost, but she would only allow herself access to it if she had transformed into either her fairy form or the Princess. Alas, she continued with her statement, wanting to dismiss the subject of her item before anyone else questioned it, “I’m… Sorry for pulling that stunt back there. Sometimes I don’t have control of my powers, and it just happens—“

Hearing the apology had Alfred look at her in confusion. All he could do at that moment was stop her by reaching for her hand, which got her to silence for a moment before he leaned forward and placed a kiss against her cheek. Natalya was quiet when this was done before the male spoke, “Don’t ever apologize for using your powers,” Alfred reassured her, “Babe… You saved my life. Gil told me what happened back there… I pretty much almost died, but you saved me… and you have no idea how grateful I am for that. Really.”

The words had her heart pick up in pace. Just the reminder of what had happened had her mouth slowly drop open, to the point where she didn’t know what to say. Natalya bit on her lower lip and looked down; squeezing onto his hand for a moment, “…I know I joke a lot about not being afraid of things… I’m not afraid of witches, or people who try to hurt me…” She looked up at Alfred, “But seeing you like that, I was afraid… I got so scared, Alfred… I didn’t know what to do, I just didn’t want to lose you, I felt like I was dying there, I just—“

The panic in her tone of voice was there. And with that, Alfred had reached over and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. This was enough to get her to go silent once more, all while his hand slowly rubbed her back in comfort.

“I’m not going anywhere, Natalya.” He reassured her all while continuing to rub her back slowly. He emphasized this too by holding her tightly and close, all while her face was pressed into his chest, “I love you, and the last thing I would ever try to do is allow to see you sad or hurt. I’m safe because of you. I’m not going to go anywhere… I promise.”

The words were reassuring to be heard by him. After going through the chaos of dealing with those three witches, she didn’t want any more witches taking away people she loved. First her family from Sparx, now them trying to hurt Alfred… She wouldn’t allow it. 

Natalya wrapped her arms around Alfred and continued to press her face even more against his chest. Taking in his soothing scent was enough to reassure her of her worries, to the point where when the nurse had eventually walked in, she was feeling much better compared to before.

The crystal was back in her hands. Alfred was okay. Her friends were okay. UHB was okay…

…but was the magic dimension okay?

* * *

A hand reached over to pet a decaying creature sitting on his lap. The Dark Lord, who had been sitting on his throne, observed the scene that had been taking place in the infirmary at UHB. The focus he had on his crystal ball had been Natalya specifically before her transformation back to a human, which was then he had heard the gates of his palace open.

Another hand waved over the crystal ball as it disappeared into thin air. In front of him, the grand doors of the ballroom entered to reveal Gelinda, Aviana, and Nebula, taking steps inside while one witch had been holding onto the main item he had been after.

The witches, one by one, fell to their knees in front of the dark creature. Gelinda had held the piece of the Codex out to the creature, before speaking in a clear tone of voice, “We’ve returned with the first piece of the Codex, Dark Lord.”

As these words were said, Demande had stepped down from his throne. His little pet of decay crawled into the throne to take a seat, all while he stepped down to grab onto the item. A wicked smirk formed on the demon’s face before he held out a hand to Gelinda to take, which she graciously did as he helped her rose.

“Wonderful job, my daughters… Absolutely excellent,” The Dark Lord looked at the Codex in his hands. A powerful tool, all part of one key to open up the time and space portal… The Realm of Relix, where he would soon have the chance to change and alter reality in the future. 

It had to be done. If there was any success of obtaining the magic dimension in eternal darkness, the future that is to come must be set to make this the expectation.

“I did promise you all a deal for your efforts, yes?” He looked down at the witches who had slowly risen from the ground. A promise was a promise, after all. The Codex that was in his hands soon vanished as a transportation spell was used to have it stored in a different part of his palace for safekeeping, “A promise of crystals that would alter your magical abilities and make them even more powerful in Shadow Haunt. And I do keep my promises.”

The words that were being reminded to the witches had them all exchange brief looks at each other. If this was the case, they waited for the Lord to proceed as he held out his hands towards them. One by one, a crystal had begun to take form against their shoulders. It had been connected to the clothes they wore, however, a negative, dark powerful energy had radiated from it.

A powerful energy that none of the witches were experienced with while they all stood there in place; either groaning or closing their eyes at the adjustment of new power.

“These crystals shall serve as your piece of Shadow Haunt,” Demande had explained to the three, all while a large smirk formed on his face, “And, shall assist you in obtaining the remaining three pieces of the Codex. As each piece of the Codex is brought to me, I will continue to fulfill my promises and make you three the most powerful witches of this entire dimension, where your own coven shall be bowing to you.”

Another piece of the Codex for another promise… Gelinda looked at the Lord now, keeping still while she found a smirk of her own form on her lips. The energy that came from the crystals was powerful enough to the point where she felt as though she could do anything with her powers now. But this was to be tested for later. “And which piece of the Codex would you like for us to retrieve next, my Lord?”

The Dark Lord turned himself around and walked back to his throne. Sitting down, he faced the three witches once more with a serious expression brought to his face. The sooner they were able to get the remaining pieces, the better. 

_“…bring to me the Codex from the Tower of the Dead. And for your efforts, another promise shall be fulfilled.”_

* * *

Being sent back to Lenfia after such an intense few hours was the one thing that all the fairies wanted. Even if they planned on having some fun on the training grounds didn’t end up happening, at least they would be able to say that they did some actual fighting as a stress reliever.

Yet for Natalya, it was nowhere near a stress reliever.

Based on the behaviors that came from the Commander and Headmaster of UHB who expressed their gratitude for them helping with the attack, something was off-putting. They were appreciative of their fight, but despite all that they did, the main objective was a failure.

And that was to protect the Codex that was hidden deep within the school.

Elizabeta, Tatyana, and Natalya had been escorted back to Lenfia with the men on their bikes. There was no way they should be walking through the woods after an intense battle. 

The majority of the trip had been done through the men’s bikes. Natalya had shared a bike with Alfred, while Elizabeta had been seated with Gilbert and Tatyana had been seated with Mathias. It was mostly silently, mainly out of pure exhaustion after everything, but it was a quick trip now that it wasn’t done on foot.

Their arrival at Lenfia’s campus took about ten minutes from UHB. As they all arrived, the girls had done said their departures and thanks to the men, before heading back into the campus through the main gates. It had been a bit darker now compared to earlier, but it wasn’t that late to the point where they were at their curfew.

However, despite a curfew, there was one thing that Natalya wanted to do.

A brief kiss was exchanged between her and Alfred before the men had left. Once they did, she walked through the campus with Elizabeta and Tatyana, who seemed more focused on going back to the dorms…

…But going back to their suite was the last thing on her mind.

“I’m going to see Headmistress Radella,” Natalya was firm in her tone of voice as this was said, resulting in the other two to stop in their tracks.

Tatyana looked at Natalya with a concerned expression on her face. She could immediately tell that the girl wasn’t happy at all… More or less, stressed about the situation at hand. She frowned and placed a hand on the other’s shoulder, “Are you sure you should?” She asked, “The nurse at the infirmary said you should go and rest. Your magical ability is exhausted—“

“I’m not using any magic,” Natalya turned to face the other with her arms crossed now, “I’m talking to her as a normal being. No magic. I’m fine, I just, need to get something off my chest right now.”

“I’m coming with you, then,” Elizabeta spoke up in between the conversation, allowing for Tatyana and Natalya to look over at her. She took a few steps forward and looked at Natalya, “If this is about what happened at UHB, then I’d like to better understand the situation too if that’s okay.”

This wasn’t an issue at all with Natalya. She nodded in agreement before turning herself around and continuing to walk ahead. It was late, and she’d rather catch Radella now before she left her office for the evening than in the morning, where she had a plentiful of classes to take care of, “Good, then come on. Because that’s _exactly_ why I’m going to ask her. If the Commander and Headmaster don’t want to say anything to me, I know she’ll tell me.”

Even if she declined it, all she would have to do was bring up the information told by Gelinda, then that would get her to talk.

Walking to the main office was very easy to do. It had been almost 8 PM in the evening, allowing the girls to go inside and enter. Usually, the administrators were known to leave pretty late, especially seeing that it was slowly entering the middle of the fall semester - so most faculty members were finalizing the preparations for midterms or grading in their offices. 

Natalya reached into her pocket to pull out her student ID to scan in. It was easy to get into the main office, but upon entering, there was no one inside. From what she observed, it seemed that the receptionist had gone home for the day… But there were a few lights coming down from the hallways of the main office.

“Come on,” She whispered under her breath while glancing at the other two who had followed her, “Follow me.”

It wasn’t like they were on a stealth mission. They were simply going to speak with the Headmistress. And so, the girls walked inside the office towards one of the larger hallways, which directly would lead them to a giant pair of doors at the end of it. Outside there was a plate with the Headmistress’ name on it, which upon their arrival, all it took was Natalya to place a few knocks against it to acknowledge their presence.

Silence came at first from the office. No, she couldn’t have gone home yet… Not yet, it was too early, and there was an emergency. Radella wouldn’t have left if there was an emergency, especially since she knew that the older woman should’ve been told about what happened at UHB.

And as she suspected, the door opened a few moments later.

_“Come in, ladies.”_

Elizabeta and Tatyana felt shock come to their expressions the second they heard the voice. Natalya was right - Radella was there!  


Which only lead to her suspicion that the older woman knew what happened to grow even more.

The doors opened, allowing for the three girls to walk in. As they did so, Tatyana had been the one to close the doors behind them before approaching the desk in front of the room. The chair in front of the desk was turned, resulting in the fairies only be greeted to the sight of the back of a chair. On the desk, a teapot with steam coming out from its opening was present, as well as for a few biscuits to be set out on a plate. A few documents were set out, which revealed to the group that the Headmistress had been doing some work before their interruption.

Radella slowly lowered her cup of tea once the door was closed. She looked up toward the view of the window she had behind her desk. It was a beautiful evening on Lenfia’s campus, but based on the stressed magical energy that radiated from the three guests - she knew that it wasn’t a calm one for them. She turned herself around; greeting the girls with a small frown before the cup of tea was put down.

“Out of everyone in this school…” Radella cleared her throat to break the silence, making eye contact with each girl, “…You three are the ones I wasn’t expecting to hear about from Headmaster Elijah less than an hour ago. How are you all feeling?”

The three exchanged brief looks to one another. They weren’t necessarily called to see the Headmistress - but more chose to go see her based on their own free will. 

Natalya took in a sigh while standing there with her arms crossed under her chest, “We’re all okay, Headmistress.” She reassured the other and made direct eye contact with her; a serious expression drew to her face at this point, “But, is UHB _really_ okay?”

The question was off-putting. The Headmistress sat up in her seat and leaned forward in interest towards the girl, curious to hear more on what she meant, “What do you mean, Natalya?”

“I’m talking about the fact that Gelinda, Aviana, and Nebula broke into the school,” Natalya emphasized this while continuing to stare down at the older woman. She didn’t want any lies at that point - she wanted the full-on truth, “And stole my father’s Codex. Is this something you by any chance would know about, Headmistress? I cast a Sphere of Truth on Gelinda, and she told me everything. And Professor Ayron claimed that a Sphere of Truth makes sure we can see the true intentions of an enemy - so I know what’s going on.” 

The mentioning of the Codex had the woman sit back just a bit. How… How did Natalya know about this? 

Her change of behavior was enough for the girl to take a seat in one of the chairs in front of the desk. Natalya sat down and smirked just a bit, knowing that she got the woman in the perfect spot, “So… You _do_ know about it.”

Radella looked at her cup of tea in a moment of thought. The secret of the Codex was something that none of the King’s children was to _ever_ find out about… Not until they were much older. Yet, there was Natalya, who managed to figure it out before she was of age to even know. 

Was she obligated to talk about it now in front of her?

“Natalya…” She sighed for a moment and glanced over at the two girls who stood beside the seat she was sitting in, “…I’m assuming you two heard about this as well?”

“Yes, Headmistress.” Elizabeta confirmed, just as intrigued as Natalya and Tatyana were in the situation, “Does this have to do about the Dark Lord? I’m here because I’m concerned this may be a reason why it involves the Pixies.”

The girls were figuring out things quicker and quicker by the second. They didn’t even have to be told about the Codex - they simply figured it out on their own. The Sphere of Truth method was one that Radella couldn’t help but give kudos to Natalya for using as well. After all, it showed that she paid very good attention to detail in classes, and she had the chance to use it in truth battle.

“Take a seat, ladies,” Radella motioned to both Elizabeta and Tatyana to sit down, which the two followed with instruction. She held her hands out, resulting in three teacups to form in front of each girl on her desk, “Please feel free to pour yourselves a cup of tea as well. For this… Is something that’ll take a lot of explaining to do.”

A lot of explaining? Natalya crossed a leg over the other and reached over for the teapot, because she could certainly use it after her magical energy was completely drained up from the fight, “Well, I don’t plan on leaving your office until I get all the details, Headmistress.”

Radella watched the girl closely when she said this. It didn’t surprise her that Natalya was so eager and determined to know more of the truth. She blamed herself as a reason for this behavior… After all, just last year, she had managed to find out she was the lost Princess of the magic dimension.

Yet instead of telling Natalya the truth, she kept it hidden, in hopes that the girl would be able to figure it out on her own.

“You see, ladies…” Radella began with a small hum to her tone of voice. As she did so, she took in a breath and closed her eyes, “What you have heard about this Codex… is something that no one in the entire magic dimension was to know about. This is something that… Well, you Natalya, would learn about when you graduated from Lenfia. It was a mutual decision that I and the members of the Ministry of Magix had come to the decision of.” 

As this was said aloud, Natalya’s eyes widened at the mentioning of how she wasn’t supposed to have known about the Codex until she had graduated from Lenfia. She stared at the Headmistress and sat up for a moment to learn more, “What do you mean? What is it? What does it have to do with my father?”

Radella reached for her cup of tea and took a small sip from it. After a moment, she lowered it down and reached for one of the drawers in her desk. Fiddling around inside it, she eventually pulled out the letter that was sent to her from the Ministry of Magix a few weeks ago. The letter was set in front of Natalya, which allowed her to reach for it and open it - immediately recognizing it being the letter form Amare.

“In our dimension, there exist multiple portals,” Radella explained while the girl had begun to read the letter. Beside Natalya, Elizabeta and Tatyana had looked over her shoulder to catch a glance of it as well, “One of these portals, is known as one of the biggest time-space portals to exist. It has been always known as a place of emergency… And its key was to never be found out by other magical beings at risk of it potentially interfering with the time-space continuum. Your father, King Viktor, as we know, was the ruler of the magic dimension. _He_ was the only one who had the true key of entering this portal, which we called, the Realm of Relix. The key is was to be passed down by each generation of rulers of Sparx… But, unlike your ancestors, your father was a smart man and had an idea.”

The explanation was already detailed enough as it was. Natalya had still been reading the letter even while she was in the process of explaining it. At one point, she had lowered the letter back onto the desk and looked back at the Headmistress, “An idea?”

“Hold on,” Elizabeta interrupted for a moment and motioned to the letter. She had the chance to read a few words of it to better understand what was going on, “Are you saying that this time and space portal — does that involve the usage of time travel?”

Tatyana and Natalya’s eyes widened at the mentioning of this. Traveling through time was something that none of them had been experienced with… Let alone, did they even know that it was something that existed in the first place.

Radella sighed at the realization that came from the girl. It seemed that they were beginning to figure it out the more and more she explained, “Yes… to both questions,” She explained while sitting back in her seat, continuing with her previous thought from before, “The Realm of Relix is a place where it allows any user to enter it to travel into time. Whether it be the past or the future, it is a dangerous place that no one should dare alter time. In this case, King Viktor lead to the decision to break the one key that unlocked the opening to this portal into four pieces… These pieces, he called the Codex. If all pieces of the Codex were put together, it would turn into the key of the Realm of Relix.”

There were four pieces that connected to the Codex… It made sense and was similar to the story that Gelinda had given her earlier. Natalya reached for the letter once more and scanned the wording of it. Directly from the Ministry of Magix, it was also another confirmation of how the members were concerned about the Codex being in danger. 

All of it matched up to Radella’s explanation so far.

“Frankly, gathering all four pieces to form that key is what I believe the Dark Lord is doing,” Radella explained once more, “Which if that is the case, it’s a very extreme situation.”

“Is that why he’s gone after the Pixies?” Elizabeta spoke up in a questioning tone of voice, “Because he speculates that one of the pieces is in their village?”

That was a question that Radella didn’t know if she could answer. She knew where all the pieces of the Codex were located, but for the sake of not getting any more information leaked out, she chose to hold back from providing detail, “Possibly,” She answered the question, “No one knows where the pieces of the Codex are. Not even do I - it’s so dangerous if all pieces of the parts are found, that no one is allowed to know of it… But I’m assuming if Demande found one in UHB, it could be anywhere.”

Something about this statement didn’t settle right in Natalya’s stomach. She didn’t push it though, since already she was being given enough detail that she wanted about the Codex, “Why wasn’t I told about this sooner?” She asked in clarification, “If I had known about this Codex, maybe I could have tried to hide it—“

“—because as a personal request, Natalya,” Radella interrupted her with a serious expression to her face, which got the girl to go silent immediately, “Because your father did _not_ want you to know. He did not want you, or even your siblings to know when you were old enough. Getting into that portal and altering time is extremely dangerous. One person to accidentally spill information and details about it, there’s a chance of the information spreading…” She sighed, “If you hadn’t come and asked me about it, I wouldn’t have told you.”

Natalya’s brows furrowed a bit in frustration. Her birth father - the one person that she had never gotten the chance to meet - had a lot of plans before his passing. Especially when it came to her and her family. What other secrets did he keep? She had no idea… She wished she could ask her mother, but even if she did, she doubts Alyona would answer any of her questions because she was ‘too young’.

“This portal, Headmistress…” Elizabeta began, clearly intrigued about the fact that there were a time and space realm that magical beings could get into, “What do you think Demande would want to do in it? You said it controls time, yes?”

A nod came from Radella in confirmation as this was asked. She sighed for a moment and reached over for the letter that was placed down on the desk after it was finished being read before folding it back up, “I have no idea,” She answered truthfully, “As I said before, any magical being who steps inside it can travel to the past or future. The fact that it even exists baffles me, which is why I fear that the Dark Lord may want to do something in regards to changing time in either the future or past.”

“What can we do to stop it, then?” Tatyana asked with concern formed all over her expression, “Or in this case, I guess my question is, _how_ can we stop him from getting the pieces?”

It was another question that Radella didn’t really have an answer to. She looked down for a moment in thought; closing her eyes before coming to an idea and nodding, “What you ladies can do, is firstly _not_ tell anyone we had this discussion today,” She answered, “No mentioning of the Codex. No mentioning of the Realm of Relix. All we can do now is keep our eyes out… And do not feed into any of the Dark Lord’s plans.”

It sounded like a scripted answer from Radella. But putting herself into the older woman’s shoes, Natalya understood this. Even she wouldn’t know what to do in a situation such as that one, others than avoiding talking about it and continue to risk others from finding out that a time portal existed in the first place.

It baffled her that such a powerful tool could be obtained. Traveling in time, to the past and the future…

…it felt like she had been watching a movie that she’d watch on Earth.

The topic of conversation coming to an end came with the dismissal from the office by the Headmistress. Mainly due to the fact that it was getting late and she did have to begin heading home, all while the girls did still need to recover from the attacks at UHB. The Headmistress led them out one by one as she locked up her office, as well as the main office, before heading outside of the building to watch them depart back to their dormitory.

Radella stood in front of the entrance of the main academic hall while watching the girls walk away. Part of her heart knew that she had to lie in some parts for the sake of not spreading any more information - especially with Natalya present. 

If Natalya was truly awakened as the Princess, she could only imagine the possibility of her knowing where all the pieces of the Codex were. She may have not realized it, but magic was powerful. 

“Viktor…” She looked up towards the sky with a small frown drawn to her lips, taking a moment to breathe in some air. Even if he wasn’t there, she knew the man had been listening, wherever he was, “…Did I do the right thing by telling Natasha about the Codex?…

_…or is she still too young to know the full truth?”_

* * *

Returning to the suite after such an intense day was what all the girls needed. Upon arrival, everything had been quiet in the suite. Monika and Mei had been off studying and doing homework, all while Florentyna had been passed out asleep in her room after a long, exhausting day of classes.

The Pixies had seemed to be occupied in their own small beds as well. In each room, beds had been set up beside the fairy’s beds so they’d be able to stay close by their bonded fairy during the night. Seeing that it had been past their bedtime, the sight of them all being asleep did not surprise Natalya, Tatyana, nor Elizabeta when they had first arrived.

The first thing Elizabeta doing upon entering her room was taking the time to kneel down and admire CeCe, who was fast asleep in her bed with a thumb brought to her mouth. Taking care of the baby Pixie was a lot of time-consuming energy, but the fact that she had the other Pixies surrounding her during the time of transition, she was happy to have CeCe by her side as she bonded Pixie. 

Going to bed was the easiest part of the three fairies that had just returned. All while Mei and Monika were occupied with their own work, they hadn’t seemed to notice the others arrive until they had walked to their beds, gotten changed, and went directly to bed to welcome a new morning.

However, this wasn’t necessarily the case with Natalya the second she had climbed into bed. 

Laying down underneath the covers, her eyes were closed for a moment as she could feel her body slowly becoming more heavier by the second… All until her phone buzzed on the nightstand.

Her eyes shot wide open then and there. She had thought she had set her phone to ‘do not disturb’, but that didn’t seem to be the case if she was still getting notifications. Natalya reached over for the mobile device and unlocked it quickly, only to soon be greeted to the sight of a reminder notification from her calendar…

**_REMINDER:_ ** _TOMORROW, OCTOBER 5TH, SHOP RE-OPENING PRESS-KIT._

Natalya’s eyes widened in realization upon seeing it. That was right… Tomorrow, after an entire summer of budgeting and rebuilding her adoptive mother’s shop on Earth - its grand reopening was the next day! She had been so occupied from the events of earlier that day, that her mind hadn’t even thought about once how she was supposed to return home for one day after her classes.

Made sense too that it was all planned out on a Friday, so she’d purposely have the chance to spend a night at home.

She pressed a button quickly on the side of her phone to turn it off. Turning around to her bed, she laid back down and stared up at the ceiling in thought.

Memories of the events that had taken place months prior to where she was now filled her mind. The fact that those two scammers tried buying her mother’s bakery with the intention of destroying it and turning it into an insurance agency… Then, her powers came to her when it was most needed and warned her about their true natures.

Her sister had been the one to tell them off and refuse the deal. However, the two scammers still did not hesitate to pressure them to sign the contract, which came in multiple threatening ways. Vandalism, destruction - Natalya still couldn’t believe that the police hadn’t done anything until they had the audacity to set the shop on fire.

Since the fire, her family had worked together to build-up the shop into something bigger. With it being a very well known bakery in the city of Moscow, a lot of customers and supporters who had donated to the funding of building the shop back up would be at the brand new location for a press meeting. Television, interviewers - all there to learn her family’s story of the shop. 

And she was supposed to be there with her family opening up the shop for the first time in months. Due to there needing a lot of construction to fix the shop, her family had been selling their famously known baked goods at the Russian market. All profits that were made went directly to the rebuilding of the shop. While she was there during the entire construction process, as well as the finalization of things - she hadn’t really gotten to see it as much since she had left to come back to Lenfia.

And that was at the end of August. It was the beginning of October now.

A small yawn escaped from Natalya’s lips now as she closed her eyes and made herself more comfortable in bed. She’d worry about getting to Earth tomorrow… She’d have to skip a class in the afternoon to get there on time, but she was sure it wouldn’t be any problem.

And with that, she closed her eyes and fell asleep for the evening.

The evening seemed to flash within the blink of an eye. While it was almost getting ten hours of sleep before the next day, waking up the next morning, she was still absolutely exhausted. And she didn’t seem to be the only case, with Tatyana and Elizabeta being equally exhausted. 

Their exhaustion was easily noticed the second they had woken up as part of their routine in the morning. Every morning, all of them as a group went to go get breakfast together. The fact that Natalya, Elizabeta, nor Tatyana seemed very awake in the matter, was shocking for both Florentyna and Mei, who were known to be the ones to sleep in and be tired…

…Alas, the tables had turned.

“The fact that Monika said she had studying to work on this morning instead of coming to breakfast is so amusing,” Mei couldn’t help but to chuckle while staring at the ‘three zombies’, as she referred to the trio, “She’d be living to see this.”

“Yes, well,” Rani, who had tagged along for breakfast since she had been wide awake and wanted to eat, “It’s a good thing she decided to study. That shows a lot of responsibility!”

Tatyana rubbed her eyes for a moment and gave a small shrug. She normally was never tired, but when it came to using up magical ability, it made a fairy more exhausted than usual. She looked over at Mei and tilted her head, “Monika’s still doing homework? What is she working on right now?”

“No idea,” Mei explained with a small hum to her tone of voice, “She said she’s working on a big personal project. Something about a lot of research about the… Uh, history of Paladins.”

“History of Paladins?” Tatyana was intrigued by this. It was an interesting topic, but why was Monika studying such detail about it? “She should go talk to Professor Ayron on it. I’m sure he knows a lot about the history - seeing that he’s a Paladin himself.”

“Very true,” Elizabeta followed-up in agreement. If she had been doing it for a class, it would be a stupid idea to not go and see Ayron himself for details, “I’d do it if I were her.”

“Eh, she seems very personally invested into it,” Mei explained to the two as they were all beginning to approach the breakfast line in the dining hall. One by one, they grabbed their trays to load their breakfast foods onto, “I’m sure she’ll ask him at some point.”

Homura, who had been flying right behind Natalya, flew up towards Mei with her head tilted to the side, “Shouldn’t she have gone to seen him right away?”

“Maybe she’s shy, Homura!” Meri interrupted with a pout to her expression, “Wouldn’t you be shy seeing someone very powerful?”

Homura looked at Meri where she could feel herself beginning to blush. Out of instinct, she flew straight to Natalya and hid in the girl’s hair, closing her eyes tightly, “I-I guess…”

“Don’t let it get to you, Homura,” Natalya yawned and reached over to gently pat Homura’s head with her finger. Since getting back from UHB, one thing she had to admit, was that it was really good to have the presence of her bonded Pixie close to her again, “I was shy when I was younger. I’d be shy to go see a powerful figure too if that’s the case.”

Monika working on a personal project… It sounded completely normal for her. After all, throughout their first year at Lenfia, she was the one member of the friend group who was very devoted to her projects. She created robots, weapons to use in battle through magic - it was amazing. The fact that she was taking the time to research about Paladins was very interesting. 

Perhaps maybe to see if she connect a Paladin’s magic with technology? Who knew.

The group of five made their way through the breakfast line. Each one of them, grabbing their usual preferences for breakfast, before stepping out to find a table to sit at. Seeing that it was early in the morning, no one was really around… Which was why after all, they went to go eat very early.

There was always a better chance of finding seating compared to later in the morning.

The group had decided to sit at a circular table. There, they would all be able to have a seat and talk amongst themselves while eating their breakfast. 

“You know, I’m starting to feel stressed out,” Florentyna began while she was in the middle of cutting open her bagel. Once opened, she reached for a knife and began to spread her famous veggie cream cheese that she always enjoyed with it, “We’ve been doing nothing other than training, fighting monsters… And it’s only the middle of the semester! We’ve still got half a semester to go, pretty much.”

“Don’t forget the convergence classes we have today,” Elizabeta couldn’t help but let out a small yawn in the process of saying this. She had taken a sip out of her coffee, before placing the mug down and turning to her food, “I’m still pooped from yesterday… I need a break.”

It was at the mentioning of taking a break that Florentyna felt a smirk form on her lips. With her arm slowly wrapping around Elizabeta’s shoulders, she looked at the other, “Say… You aren’t perhaps suggesting, we… skip classes for today, hmmm?~”

“Florentyna, no.” Natalya looked up right at the other with a serious expression to her face. In her hand, she had been holding onto a piece of toast that she had already taken a bite out of and was chewing. After swallowing, she cleared her throat, “You’ve been doing good so far this semester. Don’t even think about it…” She paused though in realization. That was right, the notification from last night, “…speaking of, I uh, am skipping classes this afternoon.”

“WHAT!?” Florentyna sat up in her seat and looked down at the other with a pout, “How is that even fair!? I can’t skip class, but you automatically can?”

“It’s not that simple, Florentyna…” Natalya explained to the other with a small sigh. She placed her piece of toast back onto her plate, turning to face the other now, “I forgot that today is my family’s bakery re-opening on Earth. I have to go represent my family there, so I’ll be using one of my sick days to go and take care of it. I’ll be leaving _after_ our morning classes.”

Homura peeked out from behind Natalya, looking at Florentyna for a moment, “The rule is that technically, you have two sick days per semester. So while Natalya is right,” She looked back at her bonded fairy, “Technically, Florentyna is right as well. She wouldn’t get in trouble if she sacrificed a sick day.”

“See!” Florentyna crossed her arms and sat back down in her seat, “Even Homura agrees. What I can do is use a sick day, and well, honestly… Can I tag along to Earth? I can come to support you and your family - plus, your family loves me!”

A long stare came from Natalya when this was said. Yes, her family did like Florentyna since she helped them out a lot… But the thing was that her family didn’t like magic at all. A lot of damages had taken place to their house because of magic. The only reason why they didn’t mind Natalya using it was because it was _her -_ she was family and knew how to control it.

“I don’t know, Florentyna…” Natalya began with a sigh, unsure of whether or not it’d be a good idea.

“Can I tag along too?” Mei smiled and leaned over, looking at Natalya with a grin now drawn to her lips, “I can babysit Florentyna. Plus, I actually never have been to Earth before, so I’d love to see it in person.”  


“Me too, now that I’m thinking about it,” Elizabeta couldn’t help but begin with a thought. Her life growing up, she had lived the average Princess life. Isolation from the world, and never really got a chance to explore the other planets that existed outside of their dimension. Being at Lenfia was the first time she’s ever gotten to leave her Kingdom, which if going to Earth was an option, she’d be happy to take on that offer. And so, she looked at Natalya and pouted, “Pretty please? I’m sure we’ll be fine.”

“I mean…” Natalya continued to think about it. To allow her friends to come to Earth? She wasn’t worried about Mei or Elizabeta, she was sure they both would be well behaved. It was Florentyna however, who was the one who seemed to get in trouble, “What would you want to see? Earth isn’t… really special. It’s just like here, minus the flying cars and magic. Everyone also speaks Russian too in Russia… so you all wouldn’t pass at all if you just speak English.”

“I’m sure I can do it. Watch, I can even pull off an imitation of you.” Florentyna cleared her throat with a smirk, before making her seating in her chair similar to Natalya’s and speaking, " _Priyvet, spasibo, dobriy den', dasvindaniya!”_

“That sounds… really fucking racist.” Natalya couldn’t help but mutter for a moment upon hearing the other attempt to speak the Russian language. She sighed for a moment to correct her, “First of all, it’s _privet._ Second of all, since you’re saying thank you to me as a female, it’s _spasiba._ Third… I’ll give you validity for dasvindaniya, because you said it better than Alfred did the first time when I started teaching him Russian.” She sighed, thinking about it once more, “Most people speak English in Russia because English is a universal language… “

The convincing was there. It seemed that Elizabeta, Mei, and Florentyna wasn’t going to let it go… And would only try to continue convincing her otherwise.

“I’d just go there to check out the clubs, honestly,” Elizabeta admitted with a small smile to her face, “I’d love to go and party for a day. I hear Earth has the best music,”

“Second best, actually,” Mei interrupted and looked right at the other with her brows risen. However, at the mentioning of music, she had gasped to herself and immediately reached for her bag, “I completely forgot — I have things to give you guys today.”

The conversation at hand came to a pause the second this was said. All of them - including the Pixies - had turned to face the other. Mei reached into her bag, pulling out what looked to be pink envelopes with names addressed to each one of them. She handed one to Natalya, followed by Elizabeta, then Tatyana, with the last one going to Florentyna.

“What are these?” Elizabeta asked as she opened hers up, only to notice that there was a card inside. She paused for a moment and took out the card; reading through it quickly upon realization of what it was, “An invitation?—“

“Yeah!” Mei smiled and placed her bag down while she watched the others begin to open their envelopes to read them, “I’m performing at UHB’s opening ceremony for their fall festival. I’ve been working on a new song during my spare time, which I’ll be singing there… Speaking of,” She looked over at Florentyna, “Remember too, we’re performing a song together as well.”

“A duet?” Tatyana gasped at the mentioning of this as she smiled and brought her hands to her cheeks, “How wonderful! So that’s why you’ve been locked up in your room playing the piano.”

“You have no idea,” Mei chuckled and reached for her spoon to continue eating her breakfast, “My dream is to one day become an idol… You know, singing and performing. I’m hoping it’ll be enough to get some people to notice me. Plus, my dad’s coming, not my siblings. He’s a teacher that used to teach about music in magic, so I can’t mess it up and show I’ve been doing what he’s taught me in my songs and magic.”

“I’m so excited for it, you have no idea,” Florentyna smiled and placed the invitation into her bag, “Mei and I have major plans for this concert. It’s going to be amazing, with a capital A, nonetheless.”

“Well, I’ll be there in the audience to support you guys,” Natalya looked at the invitation once more. A concert… When was the last time she went to a concert? The fact that it would be for a friend as well, she would definitely be there to support her along the way. Plus, if it was Mei’s dream to be a performer, there should be nothing in her way to stop her, “If you guys need any help with anything too, feel free to let me know. I’m not a musician, but I did perform for… more than ten years in figure skating.”  


A gasp came from Mei when she heard this. She looked over at Natalya and reached for her hands, grasping onto it, “That’s right, you were a performer! A Professional one too, right!? If you have any tips, I’d love to hear them!” 

A professional performer made more sense compared to famous. She wasn’t famous at all, but when it came to competitions, people did know her as the ‘Russian skater’. Natalya chuckled and pulled her hands back after nodding, “Mhm, of course. If you and Florentyna are working together at any point later in the week, just let me know and I’ll help out. My father from Earth gave me all the good tips on how to relax nerves.”

“Speaking of family on Earth…” Florentyna shot right back over to Natalya, once again, going into her pouting phase to resume the previous conversation from earlier, “Please? Can we come to Earth?”

There it was again. Natalya sighed for a moment when hearing this, before glancing over at Elizabeta and Mei, who were also pouting. They were all that desperate to have a reason to skip class that day? She looked at Tatyana, who seemed unphased while eating her breakfast, “Would you be joining along as well?”

“Oh no,” Tatyana answered quickly all while in the middle of pouring some fruit into her yogurt. After mixing it around, she took a bite out of it before looking at Natalya and swallowing, “I actually have lab homework I need to get done. Plus, I’m still really tired from yesterday, so it probably isn’t a good idea.”

That was a valid point that she wouldn’t argue with. If she didn’t have this priority to do with her family, Natalya would easily have taken a sick day just to stay in bed and recover. She looked at Elizabeta, Florentyna, and Mei once more before releasing what sounded like a frustrated sigh, “…Fine.”

Allowing for them to join her on Earth was something that Natalya hadn’t figured out if it was a good idea or not. It could be a hit or miss… Either they would get themselves in trouble, or they would actually behave and enjoy what Moscow had to offer. It was settled for now - the four girls would be going to Earth after their morning classes, while Monika and Tatyana would be staying at Lenfia to continue with their assignments. 

The plan that was decided at breakfast after Natalya’s agreement, was that since it was the weekend, they would spend the night at Earth before returning to Lenfia in the morning. Her family’s home was huge, so she was sure that they could accommodate a few of her friends.

It made her realize that as they were cleaning up for breakfast, Natalya had never really had friends come to her house before… She had been used to seeing her older sister, Anya, bring friends all the time growing up… But she never really got to experience what it was like to have a slumber party, Let alone, having friends over to play in general.

Now that she was a teenager, she felt like she was finally catching up with the mainstream things that come with friendships. One of the biggest being having friends visit and stay the night. 

Cleaning up from breakfast was fairly quick and easy for the girls. It took them about an hour for them all to eat their breakfast, before together as a group, cleaning up their table so the next batch of students who were just coming in for breakfast could have a place to sit and seat. The dishes they used were dropped off at a magical dishwasher to clean it before the gameplan of what was going to happen was decided.

The Pixies, who were with them at breakfast, were sent back to the suite so they could at least get some playtime and resting in before traveling to Earth. After all, it was agreed that if the fairies could go, then it shouldn’t be a problem for the Pixies to join along as well.

They all had a morning class. By noon, those who would be joining Natalya on Earth would meet her at the front gate of Lenfia and she would open a portal to transport them all there. It would be a transport to a secluded area of Russia, that way they weren’t popping up anywhere that humans were in.

The last thing they needed was for humans to see them using magic. Since the usage of magic was heavily illegal on Earth, it was best that they avoided using magic as much as possible. Unless there was an emergency, they would be allowed to.

But for now, no magic allowed once entering Earth. 

The first class that was to take place that morning consisted of Natalya, Mei, and Florentyna to be in the same class. All while Elizabeta and Tatyana would be together for a morning lecture. This first class, specifically being run by Professor Polonium, was one based on using different spells to either rescue or protect others in need. 

Natalya, Mei, and Florentyna had entered the lecture hall where the class would be taking place; going to their assigned seats that were made at the beginning of the semester. The class had a total of thirty students, seeing that it was technically a second-year elective that students could take as a course if they so desired. 

The Professor entered the classroom, professional as always as he had set up the class for what looked to be a demo. The students in the room noticed as the Professor took out the items necessary for the demo, before soon enough, he had acknowledged their attentions by turning to face them with a large smile to his face, “Good morning, ladies.”

_“Good morning, Professor Polonium.”_

A large smile formed on the Professor’s lips seeing how engaging his class was. That was what he liked to see on an early morning such as that one - energy from his students, “My my, if I had to guess, I’m assuming everyone is in a good mood because today is Friday, yes?” He chuckled, before turning to the chalkboard in the classroom. He reached for it, picking up a piece of chalk before beginning to write down on the surface of it, “I don’t blame you, ladies. It may be Friday for you, but it’s also a fun Friday for us teachers. So the sooner I finish this class, the closer I am to going out and getting drinks with Professor Ayron and Professor Keldan.”

Laughter could be heard from the audience of students when this was said. Even Professors had their own personal lives to tend to, so when it was a Friday, that was their cue to be quick with their classes so they could leave.

“Now then,” Professor Polonium turned to face the class before motioning to the chalkboard. In large, bolded letters, the words, ‘TECHNICAL CHARMS’, had been right in the middle of the board. He walked forward to the desk where a bag had been placed out. It looked like an ordinary bag, but on the front of it, had a large padlock that looked impossible to open, “Today, we’ll be discussing the art of charms. Charms are smaller versions of spells that you can use in your everyday lives… For example, I’ve lost my key to this bag. How else am I supposed to open it without a key?” He smirked, “This is where the charm comes in. However, what you need to remember is that pronunciation is _vital_ in charms. One mishap, and you could be saying the wrong spell… For example,” He motioned to the bag, “To open this, the charm’s incantation is, _expidios containem._ Would anyone like a shot at it?”

Hands immediately began to raise in the audience of students when the question was asked. Again, this was another thing that he liked to see as he smiled, noticing that one student, in particular, had been standing out to him. And that had been Florentyna - who he was shocked was beginning to participate in class more as he chose on her, “Alright, Florentyna. Go right ahead.”

Florentyna’s eyes widened in realization when hearing the Professor call her name out. Lowering her hand down, she stood up from her seat and nodded before staring at the padlock; a serious expression to her face as she focused her magic, “… _Expidios containem!”_

As the spell was cast, what looked like small sparkles of magic had formed around the bag. All it took was a few seconds for the padlock to immediately unlock, resulting in gasps of amazement coming from the students. Even Florentyna was shocked to the point where she covered her mouth, surprised that she was able to do it in the first place.

“Very well done, Florentyna,” The Professor smiled as he turned to face the padlock. It was open, which showed that the spell was successful, “Wonderful job - you may take your seat.” Once she had sat, he continued on with his lecture, “Now, going back to pronunciation… Say for example, if Florentyna had accidentally said something like… _expidios containe_ ** _s_** _._ ”

The one-letter change in the spell didn’t result in the padlock to close or even open. Instead, a bright light formed in front of the Professor, before what looked to be a large, floating octopus in front of him. All the students, even Florentyna, Natalya, and Mei, were startled at the sight of the octopus, which no one was planning to see at all. 

And so, came the laughter from the students.

“See what I mean?” Professor Polonium chuckled to himself before snapping his fingers. In seconds, the dripping wet octopus had disappeared into thin air, being transported right back to the body of water it had come from, “There are a lot of languages in the magic dimension for elves. For myself, you all know me as a sun-elf wizard. So in elvish, _containes_ refers to octopus. In common, _containem_ means unlock.”

Listening to the explanation by the Professor was very intriguing, yet interesting to hear. There were plenty of different languages that were spoken in the magic dimension - but it had been nowhere near compared to the languages from Earth. While the universal language on Earth was English, it was the same case in the magic dimension. Every magical being spoke a form of English, but when it came to magical being species, there were a lot of different languages.

For fairies, this wasn’t the case as they were able to communicate through their magic. But for those who were elves, for example, they had plenty of languages they could speak and communicate in. Professor Polonium, being a prime example of one who did.

The class managed to reach a conclusion two hours later. With it being a longer lecture, it allowed for Natalya, Mei, and Florentyna to leave at around 11:30 in the morning, just about half-an-hour before they would be meeting with Elizabeta to head to Earth. This allowed for them to not only have time to grab a snack, but also the Pixies, and pack a bag of overnight items seeing that they would be spending the night at Natalya’s home before returning to Lenfia the next morning.

Right at the dot of noon, the three girls waited at the entrance of Lenfia’s gates with their small bags. Natalya hadn’t brought a bag seeing that she still had things at home that she could easily use to take care of herself, though for Florentyna and Mei, this wasn’t the case scenario at all.

“I’ll do the honors!” Florentyna took off the ring she was wearing and placed her bag down for a moment. Since she had traveled to Earth many times, she already knew the spell to get there through her magic. She tossed the ring up into the air, and within seconds, had turned into her family’s scepter that had been bestowed upon her. She held onto the scepter with a firm grip before grabbing her bag; focusing her magical energy into it as a bright glow formed in front of the four girls and Pixies, “ _To Earth, we go!”_

The bright light that appeared surrounded each of the girls. Within seconds, all it took was the one spell for them to be transported to the new world. All of them had shut their eyes during the transporting process, that by the time they had arrived, they opened and weren’t greeted to the sight of Lenfia’s gates…

…but what looked like the woods in a park.

Opening her eyes, Natalya examined the area and within seconds, already knew where they were. It was the same park that she had met Florentyna in for the first time… It was in a secluded area, so no one would be able to find them nor see them transporting themselves to the dimension. 

She looked over at Mei, Elizabeta, and Florentyna before speaking, “I know where we are,” She began before walking forward, “Follow me, and careful where you step.”

For once in the land of Russia, it was a beautiful day outside. It was warm, not too windy - just right for a day visit. While Florentyna was more used to being on Earth, this was the first time for Mei and Elizabeta, who found themselves jaw dropped the second they had managed to step out of the woods and were exposed to the true sight of the park.

Earth looked… Just like Magix! Minus the magic and flying cars as Natalya had said earlier. There had been stands set out selling food, kids playing at a playground, families walking their dogs, people on picnics… It was a completely normal day for humans. 

While it was a weird sight for four girls to be stepping out of the woods with bags, no one seemed to notice. That was one thing Natalya had mentioned to the others - no one really paid attention to what you were doing and minded their own business. Unless something major was happening, then it would be enough to get people to notice.

The Pixies, who were shy at the moment suddenly seeing all of the humans, stayed close to each of their bonded fairy. It was emphasized that they couldn’t get caught, so the best protocol, for now, was to stay hidden with the fairies.

“So where to first?” Florentyna approached Natalya while she led the group. At this point, they had been walking on the sidewalk, where most pedestrians were if they were going through the park, “I’m assuming your place?”

“Nope.” Natalya responded and looked over at Florentyna with her brows risen, “My sister’s running the shop opening today. I figured we can go say hi, get something to eat, and I can help her out with setting up decorations.”

“What’s this big event all about?” Mei had asked in curiosity while walking beside the group; her eyes still admiring the beauty that existed on Earth, “I know you mentioned minor details, but it seems to be a big occasion for your family.”

A big occasion… It really was, now that she thought about it. Natalya had stopped at one point when they had approached a crosswalk; pressing a button and waiting for the signal to cross to go off, “Yeah, something like that,” She began, “My family’s shop is really popular in this area of the city. A lot of journalists and television anchors are coming to film because it’s the grand opening this afternoon since the fire back in the winter. My family won the court case against the two insurance scammers, so we were able to use the money to upgrade the bakery. It’s… my mother’s shop that she dreamed of having before she passed away, so we upgraded a lot of parts and made it bigger.

“Well, I’m sure she’s looking down at you and your family for doing an amazing thing,” Elizabeta followed-up with a smile and placed a pat against the other’s back. The crosswalk signal for them to go lit up, and so, they all crossed as a group together, “I’ve never been to any shop on Earth, let alone tried food from Earth before — so I’m excited.”

“It’s nothing special,” Natalya responded to the other while they all continued to walk down the street. This street had been less busy and not as crowded as the park was, “There’s pizza in the magic dimension, and there’s also pizza here too. Speaking of magic…” She stopped walking and turned to face the group with a serious expression to her face, which caught them all off guard, “ _No_ magic. Seriously. Don’t even think about using it here. It’s extremely illegal. I’m allowed to use it because the ministry of Magix granted me permission, but even if I have permission, I avoid using it as much as possible, because of humans here… Well, will freak the fuck out.”

“It’s against the rules to use magic here?” Elizabeta couldn’t help but ask, keeping her voice low seeing that they were still walking in public, “I had no idea.”

“Yes, it is,” Natalya sighed and turned her head around, continuing to walk ahead, “I went my entire life not using magic for seventeen years. It should be easy for you guys to not using for twenty-four hours, right?”

“Sounds easy enough for me,” Mei chuckled while holding onto her bag, “Besides, I’m more interested to see what kind of music there is here. No need for magic to do that, right?”

Hearing that was relieving to Natalya. The last thing she wanted was to get back to Magix and suddenly they’re all on trial for going to Earth and being on expulsion for using magic. She kept her eyes forward while walking, “With that being said…” She lowered her tone of voice, “That means the same for you too, Homura, Rani, Meri, and CeCe. No magic.” 

“Then what are we supposed to do?” Rani, who was hiding in Florentyna’s head popped her head out, “Pretend to be dolls? Natalya, I think you’re underestimating us Pixies.”

“Rani, she’s saying that because she doesn’t want us to get hurt,” Homura spoke out in defense to the fairy before looking up at Natalya, where she had been hidden in her jacket, “Right?”

“Exactly,” Natalya sighed in response. They were getting close to the shop now, which meant they would really have to be careful about bystanders, “If a human sees you, I just don’t want them to freak out or try and go after you. All the humans on Earth aren’t used to seeing creatures flying. We’re all here to protect you guys, so just stay close to us, okay?”

“I can do that easily!” Homura smiled and snuggled into Natalya, “There’s nothing that’ll get me wanting to be away from you, Natalya!—“

It was as this was said, what sounded like loud barking came from behind the group.

Being startled from it, the four girls had turned around to see what looked like a couple walking their dog. They had been only passing by the girls going the opposite direction, however, the dog seemed to be entranced by them. It had begun barking at the four of them; its barks becoming louder and louder to the point where a loud shriek came from Homura as she popped out of Natalya’s pocket into midair.

“Homura—“ Natalya choked out in her breathing.

A loud shriek came from Homura the second she heard the barking. Within seconds, she had gone flying off ahead from the fairies with tears streaming down her cheeks, “HELP!” She screamed in a panic, "BIG LARGE DOG AFTER ME!” 

Everyone’s jaws had dropped the second this had happened. It was as if the second Homura had claimed she wouldn’t go anywhere - her getting startled by a simple dog was enough for her to go off screaming and crying in fear. Even Meri, Rani, and CeCe had popped out from their hiding spots to watch as Homura went flying down the street screaming.

Silence came from everyone, unsure of how to react. Rani and Meri, however, had appeared out from their hiding spots and went flying in the direction of where Homura went, “We’ll go get her!”  


“Wait!” Natalya called out, but it had been too late.

The two Pixies had immediately gone after towards where Homura had gone, leaving the four fairies with a sleeping CeCe all alone.

“I’m sure they’ll be fine,” Florentyna couldn’t help but chuckle to herself at the sight of it; still keeping a tight grip around her bag, “They’re smart, so once they find Homura, they should know to come right back to us.”  
  
There had been a great amount of concern on Natalya’s face. She had a feeling that she shouldn’t have brought the Pixies in the first place, let alone, put them in a place of new surroundings. The fact that Homura got spooked off because of a dog said something, which resulted in her to sigh and shake her head, “Just, come on. Let’s go after them before someone sees them.”

Turning towards the direction of where the Pixies had gone, the group of four began walking once again down the street. They had seen Homura fly off towards an alley which led to another street, so all they could hope was that she hadn’t been spotted that quick by a human.

The thing was for Homura, she didn’t realize she had lost her friends or bonded fairy until she realized where she was. She had gone the first direction she had seen in hopes to get away from the big ‘scary dog’ in her eyes, but instead, she had ended up on a completely different street.

“Uh oh…” Homura looked around with widened eyes. Humans were walking everywhere - crossing the street, doing their own things… Yet, didn’t seem to notice her. She turned herself around, facing the direction where she came from, “I should head back—“

However, just as she was about to go, something had managed to catch her attention.

It sounded like… Crying?  


Not just any crying, but crying from what sounded like a child.

Homura looked around for its source. That was when she saw it. 

At a bench, what looked to be a little girl with pigtails sitting there all alone. She had been holding onto a stuffed animal; tears streaming down her cheeks while she rubbed her eyes and continued to cry.

Something about the sight of it had Homura drawn to it. In seconds, she had flown directly to where the little girl had been sitting. In her heart, she knew that she shouldn’t be approaching a human and interacting with them… But something about the sight of a crying little girl was enough to awaken something in her.

“Hey, are you okay?” The Pixie had asked, flying up to the little girl’s face, who seemed to have her face shielded from crying, “Are you hurt, sweetie? What’s wrong?”

The high-pitched voice was something that had managed to catch the little girl’s attention. She looked up at the source of the voice, before feeling her eyes widen in shock at the sight of the Pixie. The girl didn’t understand what was being said, but she didn’t seem freaked out at all. Instead, she whimpered and cried out, “ _M-Mama… Ya khochu mama_ …” 

“Mama?” Homura’s eyes widened in realization. The girl didn’t speak English at all! She had completely forgotten that Natalya had mentioned that everyone on this part of Earth only spoke Russian. She felt panic form in her eyes before she thought for a moment and flew down to the girl’s hand, gently touching it. A bright glow of magic came from the palm of her hand, resulting in the little girl to immediately go silent at suddenly feeling a sense of comfort at the little strange creature, “You can’t find your mama? It’s okay! I’m here, I can stay with you until you find your mama!”

Even if the little girl didn’t understand her, it seemed to have been enough to get her to calm down. The little girl stared at the Pixie; rubbing her eyes for a moment and staring for a moment before feeling a large smile form on her face. Homura smiled back up at her, the glowing magic soon coming to an end the second the girl was calmed down.

“Homuraaaa!” 

A voice managed to catch Homura’s voice from a distance. Turning around, she had noticed Rani and Meri flying right through the alley where she had come from, looking around frantically before the Pixie had called out, “Rani! Meri! I’m over here!”

As the voice called out to them, the two Pixies immediately picked up where Homura had gone. Rani and Meri flew over to the bench where she and the little girl had been, before one of them spoke, “What the heck were you thinking!?” Rani began in a pant, “You managed to panic us!”

“I-I’m sorry,” Homura frowned and pulled her hand back from the little girl, “I just, got scared… But then, I found someone crying! So I’m staying with her until her mama shows up.”

“Mama?” Meri stared for a moment in confusion before looking at the little girl, who had now been staring up at the three pixies in amazement, “…Why uh, isn’t she freaking out?”

“I cast a comforting spell on her,” Homura responded simply with a proud smile to her face, “She was crying and doesn’t seem to speak English. So I figured that I’d communicate with her through my magic, and she seems to be calm and happy again!”

The little girl was absolutely amazed. The way she looked at the Pixies, she was shocked that they were even real. Even when the other two appeared, she had looked at them before giggling and speaking in her native tongue, " _Malen'kiye fei!_ (little fairies)! _Vy moi druz’ya?_ (Are you my friends?)”

Homura, Meri, and Rani exchanged brief looks at each other. They had no idea what she was saying but did smile at her as Homura reached over to take her finger to gently shake it, all while Rani and Meri flew around her.

“My name’s Homura, I’m the Pixie of all Portals!” Homura introduced herself, still unsure if whether or not the girl understood her, “Uh… _Privet!”_

A giggle came from the little girl as this was said. It seemed that the little girl had begun to understand and realize that the Pixies didn’t speak English. She seemed to have picked up the name of the Pixie too from the other Pixies, before she gently shook her finger with Homura’s hand, “ _Privet, Homura!”_

“I think she understands me!” Homura gasped with a large smile to her face, all while Meri and Rani continued to observe the interaction in amazement.

In the midst of their conversation though, a large shadow eventually lingered over them. The large shadow was immediately picked up by the Pixies, which had them freeze on the spot as they slowly turned around, expecting to see one of the fairies…

…but instead, it seemed to be a police officer.

_“Izvinite_ (Excuse me) _.”_ The officer knelt down, not even noticing the Pixies that were frozen still in front of him, _"No ty sluchayno ne Marie?_ (But by any chance are you Marie?) _”_

_“Da!_ (Yes!)” The little girl gasped at the mentioning of her name. She stood up from the seat, looking up at the officer with a smile on her face, “ _A eto moi novyye skazochnyye druz’ya!_ (And these are my new fairy friends!)” She explained, motioning to the three pixies.

The officer stared at the little girl in confusion. In front of him, he didn’t see anything as he chuckled at the little girl and held out his hand, completely ignoring what she had said, “Ah, imaginary friends? _”_ He smiled at her as he spoke in English, playing along with the little conversation, “ _Ochen' milo. Tvoya mat' tebya iskala, tak chto pora k ney seychas zhe._ (Very adorable. Your mother has been looking for you, so it’s time to go see her now.)”

The little girl took the officer’s hand and nodded. As she was escorted away from the bench, she waved back to the Pixies with a large smile on her face, “Bye-Bye, Homura!” She giggled, skipping away now to where she would be brought back to her mother.

Homura waved back at the little girl with a smile on her face, feeling proud of what she had done. However, Rani and Meri stared at the other Pixie with shock drawn to their expressions.

“How peculiar…” Meri commented with her arms crossed, “Was it just me, or did that police officer pretend that we didn’t exist?”

“Yeah!” Rani pouted and furrowed her brows a bit out of frustration, “I understand if you want to ignore us, but don’t pretend that we don’t exist! I have feelings too, you know!” 

_“Homura! Rani! Meri!”_

The new voice managed to catch the Pixies off guard as they turned around to be greeted to the sight of the four fairies walking through the alley. It had been Elizabeta calling out to them, which the second the three spotted them, they went flying right towards them.

“Lizzy!” Homura flew straight to Elizabeta with her eyes widened, “You will not believe what just happened!”

“Yes, and you won’t believe the heart attacks you three almost gave us,” Natalya frowned the second she had seen the Pixies. She looked at them; her expression serious, “Homura, you shouldn’t have run. I understand if you got spooked by the dog, but I told you, I’m here to protect you. We can’t have anyone seeing you—“

“Wait! Hold on, Natalya,” Rani flew up to the blonde and reached over to cover her mouth, “Before the lecture, just hear us out! Something crazy just happened!”

“Yeah!” Meri followed-up in agreement with what was said. She turned to Florentyna and Mei, who seemed to have equally concerned expressions on their face since the last thing the fairies were planning on doing was going on a chase mission with the Pixies, “There was a little girl that was crying, and Homura went to take care of her… And she seemed to be fine when she saw us, but—“

“You let a human girl see you!?” Elizabeta’s eyes widened the second this was said aloud.

“We’re not finished!” Homura interrupted her and continued the story from where Meri had left off, “I promised her I’d stay with her because she was crying about losing her mama. She seemed happy, but then a police officer came up and said something I think about her mama looking for her!”

“And he completely ignored us!” Rani finished the story with the pout still on her expression, “It was as if he didn’t see us! The little girl said she was with us, but the officer just laughed and called us her imaginary friends before leaving!” 

“That’s… So weird,” Mei couldn’t help but to comment while crossing her arms in thought, “So you guys are saying that humans can’t see you? But little kids can?”

“Yes!” The three Pixies said in unison, confident about their discovery.

“How odd…” Elizabeta was surprised to hear this. She had grown up with the Pixies since she was a little girl, so she was exposed to them early. Now she was eighteen - almost a fully grown adult - and she still could see them. The only difference between her and a normal human from Earth was that she had magical abilities, “Children can see you, adults can’t… Yet, I’ve known you guys since I was six, and I can still see you.”

“That’s because you’re a fairy, silly!” Rani reminded the other by patting her forehead, “I guess only adults that are magical beings can see us. Otherwise, only children here on Earth can.”

The proposal was something that none of the fairies were expecting to learn about when arriving on Earth. If this was a true case, especially since it seemed to be proven right now with all the adults passing them at the bench not noticing the Pixies - it had to be true. No human adults could see them.

Only children.

It was less of a worry for them too about having to hide them.

“Alright…” Natalya sighed after a moment and looked at the Pixies, “I believe you. Just, promise me you won’t fly off like that again. Especially you, Homura.”

Homura immediately flew to Natalya and hugged her, “I won’t! Promise!”

A promise was a promise, and she sure hoped that the Pixie meant it. Especially after that little stunt from before. At least now they were together again, which meant they could all continue with their journey to the bakery. 

The walk to the bakery had been just about ten minutes away from where they were. The majority of the time the girls were occupied in their own conversation about Earth, mainly Mei and Elizabeta being the ones asking questions to Natalya about other things they should know before exploring this part of the planet.

Already they knew there would be a language barrier, so they would be careful with interacting with others.

Upon the arrival to the bakery, already preparations were being made for the grand re-opening of the store. Just outside, Natalya immediately recognized a majority of her family’s friends helping out with setting up decorations before the press was supposed to arrive. In front of the shop, a giant, red ribbon had been set out in place, which would be cut once it was officially open.

An older woman, who seemed to have been wiping down the windows immediately noticed Natalya and the others approach the shop. She had gasped and placed her rag down before turning to face the girl, _“Natalya? Is that you?”_

The rapid Russian that came from the older woman had Elizabeta, Florentyna, and Mei freeze on the spot. This was something they would have to get used to, but Natalya had simply responded to the family-friend by confirming it was her before they engaged in a brief conversation. Mostly the older woman asking how she was doing, before turning to the three girls that stood behind Natalya with the Pixies.

The thing was, the older woman hadn’t seen the Pixies at all.

“And… These are my peers from school,” Natalya motioned to the others, speaking in English now to the older woman who seemed to be surprised that she had brought along friends. 

The second she spoke in English though, the older woman knew what this meant, “Ah, you all go to school with Natya? A pleasure to meet you all,” She smiled, “I’ve known Natya since she was a little tiny baby. She looks very cold on the outside - but I promise you all she’s a good girl on the inside.”

“Oh trust me, ma’am,” Florentyna let out a chuckle as she nervously rubbed her neck, waving her hand in reassurance, “We know that, one hundred percent.”

There it was, the classic embarrassment. Natalya wasn’t really phased by this at all. After all, it was just a family friend. She looked at the older woman now who had picked up the rag before asking again in English, “Is my sister here?”

“Anya?” The older woman nodded, “I saw your older sister go inside earlier. Your father and brother stepped out to pick up things from your home.”

That was enough that she needed to know. With a nod of thanks, Natalya had approached the entrance of the shop before turning back, “It was good to see you... Thank you,” She began, now opening the door and motioning for her friends to follow. The second the door was opened, one by one, each girl walked in to see more people setting up decorations in the shop. 

The Pixies the entire time, were completely shocked that again, another adult human didn’t recognize them.

“I think we may be right!” Rani whispered, all while CeCe had been peeking her head from the hood attached to Elizabeta’s shirt. The baby Pixie was fast asleep earlier, but with all the talking, she had woken up. Alas, Rani continued while flying around the fairies, “I think none of these humans can see us!” 

Walking into the shop was even more proof that no one could see the Pixies. The fact was that while everyone had been working, they seemed to immediately notice Natalya and her friends enter the shop which they were greeted to… But as for the Pixies, no acknowledgment, nor a moment of any human freaking out at all.

There was one human who _did_ freak out though the second the group entered.

_“Natya!”_

From the kitchen, her sister had peeked her head from the window and immediately gone through the door to run over to the younger blonde. Within seconds, Natalya was pulled into a tight hug, which she had graciously returned back to her older sister who seemed to be excited at the fact that she was there, “You made it!”

“Well, I had it on my schedule for a reason, big sestra.” Natalya responded with a small smile drawn to her lips, “I wouldn’t miss this in the world.”

“Good, that means I can put you to work!” Anya smirked at the girl before noticing the three other girls behind her. She immediately recognized Florentyna and Mei after the fact that Natalya disappeared most of the summer to travel with them, but the brunette was new to her, “Hi Florentyna, Mei. And I don’t believe I know you?”

Elizabeta’s eyes widened upon realizing that the older woman was talking to her. She nodded and approached the other, holding a hand out, “I’m Elizabeta.”

The hand was taken by Anya as she quickly shook it; a smile still drawn to her face, The smile though as the seconds passed, progressively became creepier, “A pleasure to meet you, Elizabeta. My name is Anastasia, but I go by Anya. I’m assuming you’re also a student from Lenfia too?”

“Yes ma’am,” Elizabeta nodded in confirmation.

“And also a…” She leaned forward, whispering so no one would be able to hear them, “…a fairy too?”

Elizabeta looked over at Natalya for a moment, shocked that her sister even knew about fairies in the first place, “She knows?”

“Of course she does,” Natalya looked at the other in confusion, “She’s my sister. She was the first one to find out.”

“Yep!” Anya gave a proud smirk once more before patting the other’s back, “Don’t worry. The only ones who know are me, our brother, and our father… So I guess you can say we’re the only humans on this planet that know.”

“That’s a bit relieving,” Elizabeta admitted with a small chuckle to her tone of voice, “I guess you can say growing up as a Princess, you’re taught that humans freak out about this sort of thing.”

“You’re a Princess too?!” Anya kept herself at a whisper, absolutely amazed. She looked at Florentyna and chuckled, “Jeez, first Florentyna, then Alfred revealing he’s a Prince, then apparently Natalya being this lost Princess, and now another one? How many royals _are_ there in the magic dimension?”

Mei couldn’t help but laugh at this. For once, she hadn’t been a royal at all, so she completely understood where the shock was coming from, “A ton. But don’t worry, I’m one of the only nobles that attend Lenfia.”

“Thank goodness, because I don’t know if I’m supposed to bow or kiss at your feet—“ Anya began, clearly playing around as the girls laughed at this. She was glad that she managed to get away with her joking personality, especially since Natalya knew when her sister joked around, it was either a good thing or bad thing, “Anyway, are you guys here to help out with the shop? I’m definitely going to put Natalya’s hands into work, so I don’t know if you want to join in or wait until she’s finished until you can have her again.”  


“That’s alright,” Florentyna answered the other with a small thumbs-up, “Actually, we’re thinking of exploring the city a bit. Then coming back here when the big grand opening happens, if that’s alright.”

“I still want to check out a club,” Elizabeta began with a small smirk to her lips. As she did so, she ran a hand through her hair, “I’m in the mood to party.”

“Well, be careful of that,” Anya responded, now looking at the girls for a moment in thought, “Most of the clubs here at 18 and older, which I’m assuming you all are. But, most of the clubs that are open this time of day are usually the sketchy ones, so I’d be very careful.”

The mentioning of sketchy clubs didn’t phase Elizabeta at all. If anything, it made her more excited to see what Earth was like. Sure, there was a risk of someone going at her, but she knew how to defend herself quite well. Even for a Princess, she didn’t let someone hit on her that easily, if that was what Anya was implying by it being sketchy.

Alas, the conversation eventually came to a consensus after a plan was established. Just as Anya had stated, Natalya would be staying back at the bakery to help set up for the opening. The girls were welcome to leave their belongings at the bakery until later on in the evening when they could go home, which of course, Elizabeta, Mei, and Florentyna were all welcome to stay for the night before they all had to return back to school.

The first thing that was left for Natalya to do was to start cooking. So with grabbing an apron from the back of the shop, she had waved her friends off and told them to behave while going out, while she went to the back of the kitchen to start getting to work with cooking alongside her older sister. Homura of course, also choosing to stay with Natalya due to the fact that she was afraid she may see another dog and get spooked.

Leaving Rani, Meri, and CeCe alone to their bonded fairies as they went out to go and explore Earth a bit more.

Being in the kitchen felt good again after months of watching it be repaired. Everything was brand new, which meant that Natalya still had a bit of learning to understand the new processes. She eventually did manage to figure it out by fiddling around with the stovetops and ovens, before getting into the main action, which was kneading some dough.

Her hands were covered in flour as she got to work. Her hair had been pulled back into a ponytail, all while she had been focused on getting the task done. Homura had been sitting on one of the shelves; observing her bonded fairy, all while Anya seemed to be in the process of creating some chocolate filling for one of their chocolate-stuffed breads.

“I haven’t seen you this motivated to do work in a while, Natya,” Anya couldn’t help but comment upon noticing the other’s behavior, “It feels good to be back here, huh?”

“You have no idea,” Natalya responded while her hands continued to knead the dough. When she was done with one part, she had cut it in half and proceeded to set the dough out ready to be rested before they would be baked, “After the chaos that we all had to endure this year, I’m ready for the shop to get back to working.”

“That’s good to hear,” Anya smiled and wiped her forehead with her arm. As she did so, she got back to pouring the chocolate filling into some icing bags, “So tell me, how’s Lenfia been so far? I haven’t seen you since you left for the fall semester.”

How have things been at Lenfia… A lot had already happened. Between returning, to rescuing the Pixies, to learning more about her birth family… It was a lot. And on top of it all, she had still been trying to get used to the fact that she was technically a Princess. The formality she got from regular citizens was weird to her since she wanted to be seen too as a normal person.

The reality was though, with being the only-known surviving child of the beloved Braginsky family - it was hard to pass through.

“Insanity,” Was the first word that came out from Natalya’s lips, resulting in her sister burst out laughing. She glanced over at the other while dusting her hands with flour, “I’m serious. I’m just… Things aren’t the same as they were last year.”

“Oh, I bet,” Anya looked over at the other with her brows risen, “Now that it’s been revealed you’re that lost Princess, huh? That still baffles me… but it all lines up with what papa told us earlier this year.”

Earlier that year… Yes, when he had revealed the truth that she was adopted.

A small sigh came from Natalya while she began to knead the next set of dough. Sometimes talking about her origins was a bit weird to her… After all, for all her life, she had known her family - even Anya - as her only family. Her true, birth family… But the truth came out, and they technically weren’t sisters through blood.

It was hard. Months later, it was still unbelievable to imagine.

“Mm…” Natalya sighed and looked down at the bread. Part of her felt unenergized to keep going with work now that it’s been brought up… But, she forced herself to get through it. She figured Anya at least deserved an explanation of what happened to the point where it became insanity for her, “I went on a few missions that were… Tiring. And learned that apparently, there are more secrets that my birth family has been keeping from me, even if they aren’t here.”

“Secrets?” Anya frowned at the mentioning of that. Secrets was one thing in their own family that they always believed in no one should have. She knew Natalya’s secrets, just as she knew her secrets… But the fact that her own birth family, despite not being present at that time, had secrets that Natalya couldn’t know? It must’ve been frustrating, “That would anger me, honestly…”

“Now you know how I feel.” The second dough she had worked on was tossed into a large bowl. Natalya reached over for some clear plastic wrap, placing it over the bowl so the dough could rise before baking, “I found out my… Birth father, was keeping this major secret from me that I wasn’t supposed to find out until I graduated from Lenfia.” She promised Radella to never mention it to anyone. Her family on Earth had been included she figured, even if they weren’t magical beings, “I can’t talk about it... but it’s killing me on the inside knowing about it and how I can’t get help.”

A gasp came from Anya when she heard this. She approached Natalya, staring at her in shock at the explanation, “Is it bad?”

Was it? She didn’t even know. But based on what Radella had said in that meeting the day before, she believed that was the case, “Yeah,” She looked over at her sister with a serious expression to her face, “There’s... someone in the dimension who’s after a thing my father made. I don’t know what this person’s objective is with trying to do, but they can’t have this item… all I can hope is that he never finds it.”

“It’s a good thing you don’t know, then,” Anya placed a hand on the other’s shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze, “If anything, it’d stress you out more if she knew in the first place. But let’s not focus on that. How about some good news?”

Some good news… Despite everything that happened, she didn’t even know if she had any good news. That was until what looked like flour flying came from the top shelf. Homura, who had been exploring, sneezed loudly before looking down at Natalya, “Sorry, Natalya!”

That was her good news.

“Homura…” She looked up at the shelf with a small chuckle, resulting in her older sister to stare in confusion.

“Natya, what are you looking at?” Anya had asked with her brows furrowed, not seeing anything at all, “The flour?”

Natalya’s eyes widened upon seeing this. She slowly turned her head to face her older sister, staring for a moment. So the Pixies were right… After everything that had happened thus far, even her older sister couldn’t see the Pixies. It meant that it was true - human, non-magical adults couldn’t see the Pixies.

“It’s kind of really hard to explain, but as part of my good news,” Natalya held her hand out towards where Homura had been hiding, resulting in the Pixie to fly down and sit right in the palm of her hand, “…Let’s just say…

_…I have a bonded Pixie named Homura.”_

* * *

The Tower of the Dead was surrounded by lightning. It had been a pouring day outside the campus, just hours after the fairies had left for Earth. It was the perfect opportunity for a visit. Witches were in classes, faculty members were all distracted…

…And, the perfect opportunity to obtain the hidden Codex deep within the school.

Dark shadows slowly began to take form about a mile away from the entrance of the campus. There could be no risk of getting caught. Not after last time at UHB, where the entire school was on guard for their visit. The witches would be more prepared for this visit, with their intentions of being much more sneaker compared to before.

In this case, rather than using a magical orb to attack the school, they would use disguises to get themselves into the school.

Stepping out of the portal, one by one, Gelinda, Aviana, and Nebula had entirely different appearances, Nothing similar to the outfits that the Dark Lord had given them prior to their departure, but outfits that made them look like first-year witches at the University of Dark Arts.

As a group, they were silent while walking through the forest that would lead specifically to the back entrance of the school. No one usually guarded the area… Plus, they still had their old ID cards before getting expelled, so getting into the school would be the easy part. The hard part would be making sure no one was suspicious that they were using a disguised spell to get into the tower in the first place.

The walk to the tower took about fifteen minutes on foot. Even if it was a bit of a walk, there could be no risks to their plan. It was better to play safe than be sorry for facing the consequences of getting caught.

They already had all the details they needed. According to the Dark Lord, because Headmistress Evanora had once been a member of the Company of Light before turning to the darker arts of magic, she was in charge of one of the pieces of the Codex. If one of the Codex’s were located in UHB, then there was a high likelihood that another piece could be hidden at both the University of Dark Arts and Lenfia College.

However, the one at Lenfia would be another mission. For now, the main objective was to steal the codex from UHB, and quickly escape.

Arriving at the back entrance was just as the witches expected. No one was around, minus the presence of the ID scanner. No one would be outside in the current weather conditions that it was anyway, since raining wasn’t good for practicing magic unless if it was for missions or for actual battles.

Gelinda stepped up to the scanner and looked down at it as she pulled out her old ID. She brought the card to the scanner, allowing for it to read it before the light that signified the lock went from red to green.

So she was right. Evanora hadn’t removed them from the system quite yet.

She smirked while watching the doors of the back entrance slowly begin to open. Their plan was exactly going according to their plan. But there could be no jinxing in this stage. The witches one by one, silently entered the school where they were greeted to an empty hallway. The hallway they had been in was one of the freshmen dormitories, which meant that they would have to leave from the dorm entrance to get to the main academic building where the basement would be located.

“Let’s split up,” Gelinda whispered underneath her breath to the other two who stood by her side, following her towards the entrance, “You ladies go to the basement and search, and for the sake of making sure we don’t miss any spot, I’ll search the Headmistress’ office as well.”

There was a likelihood that the Headmistress wouldn’t be present in her office at all. If she didn’t have the Codex hidden in the basement of the school, then there was a chance the Codex could be hidden in the heart of the Tower of the Dead…

…which was her office.

Mutual nods of agreement came from Nebula and Aviana by the time they had arrived to the entrance of the dorm, After officially stepping outside, this was where the split had taken place. Both witches made their way towards the academic hall, while Gelinda had made her way directly towards the faculty hall to get to the main office.

The hallways were quiet. Very quiet - which made sense seeing that their timing was perfect. Upon splitting from the group, Gelinda made her way through the faculty hall; being fortunate enough to have not run into anyone. She kept her awareness at bay, just in case someone did find her. She already had a ‘reason’ to be up in the faculty offices, which her claim would be is to see the Headmistress.

And if someone were to question her…

…well, a little bloodshed wouldn’t hurt with getting the mission done.

The offices in the school were lined up along walls. Some doors were open, some doors were closed. This either indicated that there were Professors already in their offices, or some had closed them and were off teaching. She was quiet walking by them all, not wanting to catch the attention of a Professor.

All she had to do was play stealthy. No wrong movements, having strong awareness and being prepared for the worse.

_Sisters… I’m in the basement, but there are no hidden doors anything. No sign of magical presence of the Codex here._

A telepathic message was received from Aviana while Gelinda walked. If this was the case, then they were most likely right about the Codex being hidden closer to Headmistress Evanora’s office.

_Keep searching, just in case. We haven’t gotten caught yet, so we need to search this entire place. We are not leaving without that Codex._

The message was loud and clear from Gelinda to Nebula and Aviana. They had a mission to fulfill for their Dark Lord, and as his daughters, it had to be done. No matter what happened, this included getting caught, the Codex would be in their hands no matter what.

The doors belonging to Evanora’s office were grand. Taller than any ordinary human being, which showed who was the head of the school. Placing a hand on the handle, Gelinda twisted it for a moment to see if it was unlocked… But alas, it was locked.

Good. That was what she needed - a confirmation that Evanora was nowhere in plain sight.

Looking around for a moment, Gelinda waited until the area was clear before moving her hand to the handle, to pressing it against the frame of the door. She stared at the wooden surface; her eyes closing with power as she whispered a small enchantment to herself, _“Intus…”_

All it took was a few seconds before her hand slowly was pushed inside the doorframe. The more her hand went in, the more she moved her body closer two the door to the point where she had traveled inside it with no issue. She entered the office at ease with this simple spell, only to be greeted to only candles keeping it lit as well as for an array of books and a large, grand desk at the front of the room.

The last time she had been in that office was before she, Aviana, and Nebula were expelled from the University of Dark Arts. Who knew the next time she would be in there, was to steal a very important piece of the time and space portal?

And so, the search began.

Gelinda was quick. Firstly, approaching Evanora’s desk and checking all cabinets and shelves clearly to see if she could find anything. Minus a variety of books and documents, she didn’t find anything. Part of her was frustrated, but alas, she kept going as she moved along the bookshelves to see if perhaps it’d be hidden in a book.

One by one, the books went dropping down from the shelves. She would search through them, and if it was empty, straight to the ground it went. She didn’t care if she left a mess, because it would make a clear message that the Codex had been found and there was nothing, anyone could do to stop it. 

The thing was that just as she was about to search through another shelf, a message came to her mind.

_I think I may have found it!_

Nebula’s voice filled both Gelinda and Aviana’s heads as their eyes widened in response. When they had mostly speculated that it would be hidden in the basement or in Evanora’s office… It had been where Nebula went?

The thing was that Nebula had gone down to the basement, but searched different parts of the building.

_Stay there. I’ll teleport myself to you in a second._

Gelinda looked at the books that she had tossed to the ground. With her hands held out, a bright glow filled them as all the books were brought up to the air, “ _Returnus!”_ She whispered out the spell, resulting in all the books to go flying back into the shelves that they came from. If she had found the codex there in the office, she would’ve just left them on the ground.

But now that Nebula had found it? There was no way it could’ve been that easy.

The thing was that with Nebula, she hadn’t been really searching. She had been wandering the halls of the basement; looking through closets and rooms that were mostly empty. It wasn’t until she had approached what looked to be a trash shoot, that she noticed something shining above the shoot.

Her fingers were placed against the surface of the wall. Upon scratching at it, she had come to the discovery that it wasn’t just wallpaper… But magical paint. The more she chipped it off, the more what looked to be a miniature safe built into the wall. Surrounding it had been a bright light, to where even she couldn’t help but shield her eyes away, before realizing what the Headmistress had done with the Codex.

She hid it inside the wall of the school!

While some may assume it was hidden in a secluded place similar to how it was at UHB, it wasn’t at all. The Headmistress had purposely drilled a wall into the school in order to place a safe inside it - that way, no one would be able to figure it out. 

Nebula felt a large smirk form along her lips as she placed her hand against the safe. Now, the bigger issue was trying to unlock it, which was something she had no idea how to. It seemed to be based on a code… A twelve-digit code, that she had no idea how she’d be able to figure that out. In her mind, she thought of breaking the safe open, but she wanted to reduce the risk of getting caught.

Within seconds of her message passing through, Gelinda and Aviana appeared behind her with a teleportation spell. Just as the witch had explained, she indeed did find what looked to be a safe hidden in a wall. 

Aviana’s eyes narrowed in frustration before placing a hand on the door of the safe, “What the hell is this?” She began and looked at the other two, “A code? Really?”

“It’s twelve digits,” Nebula mentioned while looking over at the number pad. It was numbered, which was an easy clue for them to figure out, “The thing is that I think it may be booby-trapped just like the last codex… So if we get this code wrong once, we’ll be caught instantly.”

It would make sense if there was a trap associated with the safe. After all, based on the fact that it was hidden in a wall, made it clear enough that no one was supposed to find it. Even with the addition of a ten-digit code - it made it more obvious. Yet, this was where the witches found themselves clueless.

“Well, what’s a ten-digit code the Headmistress _would_ use?” Nebula had asked, clearly unsure of where to even start. 

The reality was that none of the witches knew much about Evanora other than the fact that she was a former member of the Company of Light before transitioning into darker magic. 

This was when Gelinda found herself having an idea, “Ladies… Remember what Demande mentioned to us?” She looked over at the two, who seemed more confused as she explained, “About how every artifact that’s been touched has a history?”

“Yeah,” Aviana responded with her arms crossed, “What about it?”

Every piece of artifact has history on it. That was the last sentence she remembered the Dark Lord mentioning to the group before they made their departure to the Tower of the Dead. Gelinda looked at the safe and placed a hand against the surface of it, staring at it for a moment, “I wonder if we did a history check spell, we could see the day she puts the code in… All it needs is just a little bit of magic…”

Her hands began to radiate in dark magic. While she touched the safe, all it took was a few seconds for what looked to be a vision that begin to take place in her mind. Gelinda’s eyes widened as she turned around, where Nebula and Aviana had once been standing…

…Suddenly, it wasn’t them anymore.

* * *

_A younger woman and man had been standing there. Within seconds, she knew exactly who the two figures were._

_“There can be no trace of the codex linked to the school,” A tall man, who seemed to have been wearing royal attire with a cloak on spoke down to a woman who stood there in hand with the codex, “Do you understand this, Evanora? If the wrong hands were to get possession of the codex, we would be in grave danger.”_

_A nod came from the woman. Hearing the name, it was enough for Gelinda to realize where the vision had taken her… It was, almost twenty years ago! Twenty years ago into the past, where all it took was a history spell for her to see the vision._

_The woman, who had been wearing a uniform looked up at the King with a smile drawn to her lips. Nothing creepy related to a witch at all.. Yet, there was that sense of trust in the air, “Of course, your majesty,” The codex in hand was turned over to the safe, where it was placed inside, “I promise to keep the codex safe, no matter what.”_

_“Understood,” The King, who had approached the safe waited for the woman to put it inside. Once inside, he closed the door shut; securing it with a padlock that required a code, “You promise to not only protect it, but to never tell any of my children. For when they turn 21, then I and Alyona will tell the truth. For now, Yekaterina, Ivan… and Natasha, shall never know.”_

_The King began to press buttons against the code. He seemed to have blocked out the view from Evanora from seeing it, which only meant that he was making sure that only he knew the code, and no one else. Gelinda’s eyes widened while watching Viktor enter the numbers._

_It was so simple._

_04 24 12 30 08 25._

_“No one must ever know.”_

* * *

A gasp came from Gelinda as the sequence came to an end. She stumbled back for a moment and pulled her hand away from the safe, staring at it amazement while the other two witches glared in intimidation.

“What the fuck was that?” Aviana looked at the other and placed a hand on her shoulder, shaking her, “What did you see in the vision?”

There was no response from Gelinda. Instead, she slowly turned her head back to the other two with a large grin formed on her lips, “It’s so simple…” She whispered and turned her head back to face the padlock.

With her hands reaching out to hold onto it, she began to add the digits. The first four, 04 24, signifying April 24th. Then came 12 30, this being December 30th. And alas, the last four, 08 25, being August 25th.

All of the birthdays of the royal children. 

A click could be heard from the padlock as it was opened, resulting in gasps coming from Aviana and Nebula. The padlock was quickly tossed away as Gelinda reached for the handle, slowly opening up the safe to be greeted to the sight of the one item they were on the hunt for.

The codex, which laid there covered entirely in the dust, glew in front of the trio. Its magic radiated powerful energy, to the point where Gelinda did not hesitate to grab onto it before pulling it out, “The damn King put it as his kids birthdates, can you believe that?… Not even Evanora knew it,” She laughed to herself while glaring down at the codex, her smirk growing bigger and bigger by the second, “Sisters…

…we officially have the second piece of the Codex.” 

* * *

_“It feels so good to be out for the day!”_

Walking down the streets of Moscow was a very new, unique experience for the girls. It was a very different city compared to Magix, where they were all used to the presence of magic at every corner. Now, it looked like regular society, minus the use of magic. People had used their own hands and feet to get to different places where they wanted with no complaints, as well as minded their own business.

“Now you’re speaking my language, Rani,” Elizabeta couldn’t help but chuckle to herself while continuing to walk ahead. Beside her, Florentyna had been holding onto what looked like an iced coffee reading through a magazine, all while Mei had been scrolling through her phone to see what sort of hits were taking place in regards to music in the city, “I haven’t felt this freer in… years, really.”

“I’m just glad that we’re all together.” Meri followed-up with the statement while flying ahead. Since there wasn’t a concern to hide since no human adults could see them, she looked around in amazing, taking note of the buildings and billboards, “Except for one, I suppose.”

The mentioning of them missing one person had Florentyna look up from her magazine. She finished her drink quickly and tossed it into a nearby trash as they passed it, “It’s okay, I’m sure Natty will be joining later. Plus, I want her to show me where the best shops here in this city,” She explained, “It would be a shame for her to miss these sales too!”

“I still can’t believe her scaredy-cat Pixie stayed with her too,” Mei couldn’t help but to tease while removing the headphones she had been wearing. Her phone was placed into her pocket while walking ahead, beginning to observe the area, “I would hope that Homura feels better too knowing that only kids can see her, and not adults—”

_“Excuse me, ladies.”_

A sudden voice managed to come out from behind them. The three girls and Pixies stopped right on the spot hearing the voice, which seemed to have been someone speaking English to them. Could it perhaps be because it was clear they weren’t speaking Russian? Slowly, they all turned their heads around…

…only to be greeted to a person that they weren’t hoping to see.

It seemed to have been a normal man. A normal man dressed in a blue uniform with a pair of glasses, and what stood out to the girls the most - a gun right on the side of his hip.

It was a police officer.

Florentyna and Mei felt their faces go pale in panic. Why were they getting stopped by an officer?! They hadn’t done anything wrong at all. Even Meri and Rani had hidden behind their bonded fairy’s backs, while CeCe remained hidden with Elizabeta inside her sweater hood.

“Pardon me for the intrusion,” He was speaking clear English to them now. Based on the heavy accent he had, it was clear that he was Russian - but was only communicating to them due to the fact that they were foreign, “Are you all exchange students? If so, what are you doing around here? Shouldn’t you be at school?” 

How were they supposed to respond to that question? Maybe it was because they were technically teenagers, but they were all over the age of eighteen! Florentyna took a step forward and began to speak, “We uh—“

However, just before she had the chance to speak, Elizabeta had stepped forward with a smile drawn to her face. She moved Florentyna right out of the way, resulting in her to gasp from being startled, “I’m sorry, sir,” Elizabeta had spoken in a very, soothing tone of voice. Her smile was bright, clearly showing that she meant no harm, “I think there’s a bit of a misunderstanding. We’re actually in university,”

“…In university?” The officer stared at Elizabeta with confusion brought to his expression, “Moscow State?” 

“No.” Elizabeta shook her head immediately, “Saint Petersburg, under the Lenfia program. We’re actually exchange students from America, so we’re visiting the city today.”

The officer seemed to be convinced. The more Elizabeta explained the situation, and lied directly to his face nonetheless, Mei and Florentyna could feel their eyes widen in shock, “I see,” He responded, “And do you have permission to be out here?”

The thing was that lying… Was unfortunately easy for Elizabeta. While she never condoned it, she did have experience having to use it a lot growing up in order to get things that she wanted. Mainly due to the fact that as a Princess, she never got to explore as much as she got to today. Alas, she continued with her lie, “Certainly, sir. If you’d like, we all have our student IDs. I’m eighteen, and my two friends are eighteen and nineteen.”

A smile came from the officer as he shook his head, holding out his hands to reassure her, “No no, it’s alright. I don’t need to see any IDs,” He reached for his hat and tipped it to her, “My apologies for having to intrude. You see, this area of the city is where a lot of students sneak away from their classes. I just want to make sure no one is missing on their education - you understand, yes?”

“Absolutely,” Elizabeta reassured him once more, “I understand the importance of studying quite well. After all, it’s why I’ve brought my studies here to the motherland.”

“Very good,” With another nod, the officer turned his back and waved the girls off, “Well, you ladies have a nice day.” 

As the officer walked away, Elizabeta had waited for a moment; keeping her posture still and that innocent smile brought to her face… Before letting out what sounded like a huge sigh of relief.

Florentyna looked right at her, completely speechless, “First of all, what the actual _fuck,_ Elizabeta?!” She began, grabbing the brunette’s shoulders and holding onto them, “How the heck did you do that!?”  


“Yeah!” Mei followed-up with confusion plastered on her face. She didn’t even know any of the details that Elizabeta had said. St. Petersburg? America? What did that all mean? “You flat out just, lied to that officer!”

The reminder of how she lied had Elizabeta sigh. Yes, she knew what she did was wrong, but she had the mindset that if they did something bad - it wouldn’t be illegal if they were caught… It was something that Natalya had told her once in a conversation. 

Elizabeta looked around the area of the plaza. From across them, she noticed what seemed to be a small, Italian shop selling lunch foods. They may as well grab something to eat seeing that they wouldn’t get their promised baked good until after the press kit at Natalya’s family’s bakery, so may as well sit down and get a drink.

“Let’s… Go sit down.” Elizabeta looked over at the two before motioning over to the shop, “There’s a restaurant right there. It’s a long story.”

Even if it was a long story, Florentyna and Mei were eager to know how she knew that many details. She hadn’t mentioned once about knowing a lot about Earth… But the fact that she had gone from being calm to pulling out a charming, friendly, personality to a human man who looked intimidating?

It was absolutely amazing to them.

The three girls walked down the street towards the said restaurant. Upon arriving, a waiter had brought them over to a table with three chairs set out, before giving them all menus and explaining that he would be returning momentarily to take their orders. 

However, food was the last thing that Mei and Florentyna wanted. The second the menus were handed over, they exchanged their thank you’s to the waiter before placing the menus down and staring right at Elizabeta, who seemed to be occupied in her own menu trying to figure out something to eat.

“Alright, Elizabeta, talk,” Mei reached over for what seemed to be a glass of water being brought out by a waitress. She held the glass in her hand after saying a thank you, before taking a small sip out of it, “Where did you learn how to talk like that?” 

Elizabeta slowly looked up from her menu. It was at this point that CeCe had crawled out of her hood and was sitting in front of her; taking sips out of the water that was meant for Elizabeta because she was thirsty. She didn’t mind this while she watched, trying to figure out how to begin the explanation, “Well…” She sighed for a moment and took in a breath, “I’m the Princess of Atlantic. Simple.”

“Yes,” Florentyna looked at her and reached for her straw to go with her water, poking the other’s forearm. “But I’m a Princess too. Hell, take Natalya for example. She’s the freaking Princess of the entire magic dimension, yet she barely says please. And I say this in the nicest way possible because that’s just her personality.”

A chuckle managed to escape Elizabeta’s lips. That did make sense… Natalya being a Princess, yet, not even knowing all the expectations that there was with being royalty. She didn’t blame her though, since she grew up her entire life on Earth and only had little time in her Kingdom before having to escape, “In Atlantic, a Princess doesn’t get to do much. Right from birth, I was trained to be a mistress of etiquette. It made me want to jump off a building.”

“Yikes…” Mei ran a hand through her hair hearing this. She wasn’t even a Princess, but her parents were very famous across the magic dimension for their music. That was, before her mother had passed away years ago, “So you had to spend all day standing up straight, being like, ‘oh, pardon me, ma’am. Please, pass the tea.”

“I feel like I was transported back to my etiquette lessons when I was younger,” Florentyna whispered to herself. Even though she was nineteen now, her parents weren’t as crazy about the whole Princess etiquette thing, seeing that she was over the age of eighteen and could take care of herself. 

“I… Had to break free from it,” Elizabeta explained before noticing some bread being brought out by a waiter. She paused for a moment and thanked the waiter, before asking for a few more minutes so they could decide on their orders, just so they could have a bit more privacy as she explained. And so, she continued her story, “I started lying to my parents. That’s how I escaped seeing the Pixies growing up… I would lie and say I’m going to study, but I’d sneak out and spend all day with them.”  
  
“That makes sense,” Mei reached for a piece of bread and split it in half. From there, she handed one each to Rani and Meri, who was sitting down in front of her and beginning to eat it, “What about all the Russia stuff?”

“That was easy,” Elizabeta had been holding onto a piece of bread that she split in half; reaching for the butter knife set out to spread some butter on it. Afterward, she gave one have to CeCe, while she ate the other, “I just pay attention to when Natalya talks. She sits in the living room when she calls her family on Earth… I guess you can call it eavesdropping, but all I know is that the University of St. Petersburg is where her older sister goes to school, something about traveling to America next summer, and how Russia is always called the ‘motherland.’ Keeping in mind, this is _only_ when she speaks English on the phone and not Russian.”

“That’s… amazing,” Florentyna gasped with her eyes widened, “I never really paid attention when she was on the phone, but you really do have great ears if you managed to pick up and remember all that.”

It was a lot of details to memorize, but she didn’t mean to eavesdrop. She mainly had done it since it was at a time that she was still getting to learn about everyone… After all, for Elizabeta, they were all the very first friends that she’s ever had in years. The only interaction she’s had outside of her Kingdom other than her peers from schooling.

Her quiet change of behavior though was noticed by Mei. She reached over and placed a hand on her shoulder, “Hey, don’t feel bad about it,” She smiled, “Cheer up. Let’s eat something, and I think while we were walking, we passed by a club that looked open. We can go there and dance for a bit before going back to Natalya.”

“You sure that’s a good idea?” Florentyna looked over at Mei with a concerned expression drawn to her face, “Didn’t you hear what Anya said? It could be sketchy, and what I’ve learned about Natalya’s older sister since meeting her is that she’s really smart. I trust her word on it,”

“I mean, we’d be minding our own business. I’m not trying to hook-up with any Earthlings,” Mei teased the other, resulting in what sounded like laughter to come from both Florentyna and Elizabeta, “Plus, if anything happens, we did take that training course last year where we had to use our physical capabilities and not magic.”

It was a valid point, which Florentyna nodded in understanding, “Alright… Well, I’m going to take a hard pass on the club, then. I still want to check out the shops here, so I’ll do some shopping, you guys can go clubbing, and we can all meet at the bakery.”

At least they all had a plan as to what they would be doing. Eventually, the waiter returned after their conversation, taking their orders to prepare some lunch. All of them ordered a pasta, seeing that it was an Italian restaurant, after all. Mainly to share with the Pixies as well, which they were known to be very picky in general with foods.

Lunch managed to reach an end about an hour later. Florentyna, being generous enough, paid for everyone’s meal with no hesitation before the group had left the scene. She even left a huge tip towards the waiter, since while it wasn’t the case in the Magic dimension, she always enjoyed helping others out whenever she could when she was on Earth. 

Just as Mei had explained, there was indeed a club close by the restaurant they were at. It had been connected to the shopping plaza they were once in, which was perfect for Florentyna seeing that she would be able to not only get her shopping done, but Mei and Elizabeta would finally be able to release the pent up energy they had for not having fun in a while.

In front of the club, there had been a lot of people gathered outside of it. Some of them drinking, smoking - but this didn’t phase the girls at all when they approached it. A long line was present as well, which meant that they would be getting their IDs checked at the front entrance.

“CeCe, stay with Florentyna while she goes shopping, okay?” Elizabeta smiled at the Pixie who had been flying in front of her, clearly confused by the request, “I don’t want you to get spooked like Homura. Florentyna will keep you safe.”

“The same thing with you, Meri,” Mei looked over at her Pixie, “I’m sure you guys will have much more fun being with Florentyna.”

CeCe and Meri exchanged confused expressions with each other. Clearly they didn’t want to leave their bonded fairies, resulting in Meri to fly up to Mei and hug her chest, “I don’t know, Mei. Something about this place doesn’t feel good at all!”

“Remember what I said earlier at lunch?” Mei chuckled and scooped her into her hands; smiling down at her and leaning forward to kiss her nose, “I took a martial arts training course last year at Lenfia. Elizabeta and I will be minding our own business, no intention of interacting with anyone.”

These words were a bit reassuring to Meri when she heard this. She hugged onto Mei’s hand once more and sighed, “Okay, Mei. Please, stay safe.”

Another nod of reassurance was given by Mei while the pixies had flown towards where Florentyna was standing. Florentyna, who waved off at the two girls, had been smiling while they approached the line to enter the club, “Have fun!~” She called out, before turning herself around and walking away towards the shops with the pixies.

Before the group had split, there had been one individual towards the entrance of the club that had noticed the girls. Usually, college students and adults attended the club during the day, so this was nothing new to him…

…However, seeing a girl talk to the palm of her hand? Then speaking up to the air when there was nothing in front of her? 

This had managed to catch his attention while he stood in front of the door; continuing to check IDs as more and more people entered. His glare was suspicious as the two girls entered the line, but part of him figured maybe they were high.

After all, college students, especially foreigners based on the fact that they were speaking English, seemed to be the ones always getting high whenever they had the chance to.

Elizabeta and Mei stood side by side while they retrieved their IDs. While it wasn’t an official ID from Earth, it was their school ID that did have their birthdates listed on it. It was official as well, so there shouldn’t be any concerns or issues. This seemed to be the case by the time they made it to the front of the line, where security had checked their IDs, before granting them permission to enter.

Excitement filled both the girls' faces while they entered the club. It was dark inside, but loud music had been playing while lights were covered in the area. People had been dancing, sitting at the bar having drinks, and even some booths seemed to be occupied with college students laughing and chatting amongst themselves.

The first thing that both Elizabeta and Mei wanted to take care of right away, was getting that eagerness to dance out of their systems.

“Come on!” Mei grabbed onto Elizabeta’s wrists, dragging her directly to the middle of the dance floor where the crowd of people seemed to be dancing with their own little groups of friends.

And so, the two girls began to dance.

The music continued to blast throughout the club while Mei had danced with her hands up in the air and swayed her hips in motion to the beat. Even Elizabeta found herself laughing along with Mei; feeling herself become free while moving her body to the music. It felt so nice to be doing something fun other than sitting in classes for an entire afternoon…

…It was a much-needed break, after all.

“This is so amazing,” Elizabeta couldn’t help but speak to the other while her eyes admired the lights that were flashing throughout the club. It really was like a party - minus the fact that it was only the two of them.

The more they danced though, the more Mei found herself feeling her brows furrow. There was something wrong… And that was with the music. For being the fairy of all music, the beat had begun to slow down, to the point where she found herself becoming bored within seconds. And she thought Earth music was good - but whoever was on the DJ, wasn’t doing a good job at all.

“It is,” Mei responded, agreeing with no hesitation at Elizabeta’s claim, “But, this music sucks. The beat isn’t vibing with me, you know?”

Hearing these words, Elizabeta found herself staring at the other with her eyes widened. She continued to dance, but at those words, she had a feeling Mei had an idea, “Mei, don’t,” She lowered her voice to a whisper while moving closer, just so no one could hear, “No magic.” 

“In this crowded place?” Mei looked over at the other, whispering back while moving her arms in the air, “No one would notice at all. They’d just see it as another light if you think about it!”

Another light… Something about that didn’t bring any comfort to Elizabeta at all. It seemed that Mei hadn’t realized how much Natalya emphasized the fact of not using magic on Earth. If they were to get caught, it would be illegal. If a human saw them, they could possibly freak out. 

“Mei, don’t,” Elizabeta frowned at the other, “Seriously—“

“Relaxxx…” Mei gave her a small wink now, before standing still and clasping her hand together behind her. No one had been looking as a bright orb of magic filled in the palm of her hands. She kept it low; looking around for a moment to make sure that the coast was clear. The orb was small, but once she had pulled it in front of her and Elizabeta, the magic was glowing right there. She grinned at the other; holding it in the air before launching the spell right toward where the speakers near the DJ was.

The beat that had been playing for the last few minutes immediately changed into what sounded like a song from Magix. One that would be played at the clubs in the city, which resulted in what sounded like cheering coming from the crowd dancing in the middle of the club at the sudden hype that came with the new music.

The DJ who had been working on the spot, however, stood up from his chair and looked down at the playlist he had set up on his laptop, “What the hell!?” He glared at the speakers, fiddling around with it, “Who changed the song!?” At first, he seemed startled… But upon glancing down and hearing the cheering from the audience, he paused. Maybe whatever happened was a good thing, he thought to himself before turning up the volume of the music.

It seemed that he hadn’t realized that there was a bit of magic involved. Mei giggled while she playfully stuck out her tongue at Elizabeta, whose eyes were still widened in horror, “Oh relax, Elizabeta,” She whispered to the other, “That’s the only spell I’ll do. No more, promise.”

Promise she said… Elizabeta really hoped that was the truth, as she sighed and nodded in understanding before dancing to the new song that was changed by Mei. Something in her gut told her that pulling the stunt was risky, but seeing that no one had questioned it, maybe she was just overreacting.

The feeling in the gut though was in response to her powers as a warning

The issue was that someone _did_ see the small act that had taken place in the middle of the club.

The security guard who had once been standing at the entrance had called for his break after checking a few IDs. Now that he had been inside, he found himself examining the crowd of college students partying and messing around on the dance floor. He had managed to catch a glance of the two girls who he assumed had been high earlier; dismissing it as nothing… That was until he noticed one of them holding some sort of light.

Was it a phone light? He couldn’t tell at all, and was planning to ignore it…

…Until that light had gone flying to the other side of the dance floor and disappeared on impact with the speaker. Instead, the song that was originally playing, changed completely. 

His brows furrowed in suspicion while glaring down at Mei and Elizabeta. Something about those girls didn’t seem right at all. First, they were both talking in the air outside the club. Now, there were orbs of light coming from their hands? It was impossible, he thought to himself all walking toward the bar for a shot of whiskey.

He sat down at one of the barstools; a few of his coworkers noticing his difference in behavior.

“What’s got you so grumpy, man?” The rapid Russian came from another security guard who had been sitting beside him with a glass of what looked like pure vodka was in. He looked at his peer and placed a hand on his shoulder; chuckling loudly, “You look like you just saw some deep shit!”

“…that’s because I think I did,” The guard answered after a moment. As the shot glass was put in front of him, he picked it up swiftly and downed it within seconds. A small burp came as followed before he placed the glass down and cleared his throat, “I don’t know… Those two girls there, they were acting weird outside… Thought they were just a couple of high American college kids, but then I saw them throw some sort of light orb at the speaker.”

Another guard, who had been a woman this time, stared at the man when he said this with her brows risen in confusion, “The fuck do you mean? That doesn’t make any sense,”

“Didn’t you see it?” The guard looked at the other when the woman spoke; motioning the bartender to pour him another shot, “How the music changed suddenly? The music never changes at this hour. Something is special about those girls, and it’s bothering me that I don’t know how they did it. I didn’t see them go up to the DJ - just, that bright orb, and then it all changed.”

“Could be some sort of universal remote control,” A small shrug came from the man from before, still trying to hold back his laughter since the other sounded ridiculous, “The more you drink whiskey during your breaks, the more it isn’t going to help in your case, man. You sound ridiculous.”

The man glared at the other guard and slammed the shot glass down. He turned to face the other and felt his hand turn into a small fist, “You didn’t see them outside, though. I think they may have some sort of magic powers.”

“Now you sound like you’re drunk,” More laughter came from the group of guards that sat at the table. The female guard looked at him and motioned at him with her glass of beer, “If you’re that worried about it, go ask them yourselves,”

The guard sighed for a moment and stood up from his seat. Fine, if no one would believe him, then he would go check it out himself.

Walking back to the dance floor, the guard found himself looking around for the two girls. He had managed to spot them at one point, where they seemed to have formed a circle of other club-goers in the middle of a dance circle.

Elizabeta had been in the middle of the circle now as the beat of the song picked up. Her hands had been in the air while she swayed her hips in motion to the beat, all while clapping and cheering could be heard from the crowd in encouragement.

For the first time in her life, Elizabeta felt alive. Sure, she had been surrounded by strangers, but at least she had Mei there to support her while she seemed to have been clapping and cheering for her friend in support. The sight truly made Mei happy. After hearing the other’s story about being isolated all her life, this seemed to be something that Elizabeta needed. 

A good thing she had brought her to the club the second she had seen it. After all, it was Elizabeta who kept emphasizing that she really wanted to go to the club. She continued to clap; smiling at the sight until she had felt what seemed to be a hand on her shoulder. 

Mei immediately froze on the spot when hearing a voice lean down and whisper into her ear in English, “ _Stay cool and you won’t get hurt,”_

Shivers immediately filled up Mei’s spine the second she heard this. She turned herself around and held her hands up; glaring right up at the person who had touched her, “Excuse me, but please don’t touch me.” She began; a serious expression on her face as her eyes made contact with what looked to be a guard that smelled like whiskey, “Touch me again, and I’ll make sure it’s your last time using your hands.”

There was a sense of panic in her tone of voice. She found herself startled when saying the threat, to the point where she had felt her hands form into fists instinctively before holding them right out at the guard, _“Sana fluctus!"_

The enchantment was said aloud as the spell was cast. Without even realizing what she had done, she realized her great mistake the second she had seen the man be launched right from her directly against the bar where a lot of other guards had been sitting and drinking. Their eyes immediately turned their direction to Mei, who was frozen on the spot upon realizing what she did.

The people who had been dancing around Elizabeta had stopped and turned their heads over to look. Even Elizabeta, who was caught off guard, looked over at Mei and stopped dancing before running up to her, “Mei? What’s going on?”

“I-I…” Mei swallowed nervously, already noticing what looked like five people - four men and one woman - slowly beginning to rise from their seats at the bar the second she did this, “…t-think I just blew our cover.” 

Blew their cover? Elizabeta looked over at the guards who seemed to have been approaching them now with what looked like angered expressions to their faces. When she meant blew their cover, she didn’t mean…!

“ _Alright everyone, listen up!”_ A loud voice in Russian came from one of the bigger guards who was glaring at the crowd of people. The music had stopped entirely, leaving the two girls, the crowd, and the guards in the middle of the dance floor. As he spoke, Elizabeta and Mei had no idea what he was saying, “ _This just became a private party. If you don’t want to play, beat it!”_ He paused and looked right at Elizabeta and Mei, speaking in clear English, “You two, don’t move a fucking step.”

The tone of voice was very threatening. Threatening to the point where those who were once surrounding Elizabeta while she danced, all immediately beginning to sprint out towards the exit of the club, Mei and Elizabeta looked at each other with widened eyes, clearly knowing right away that this wasn’t going to be good at all.

Elizabeta knew deep down, she should’ve never let Mei use magic when she had that bad feeling in her gut.

It didn’t take long for the crowd to go running out. All that the two could imagine was when the guard had spoken in Russian, it was a threat to get everyone out before things became messy. Maybe it was a huge understanding — at least, that’s what Elizabeta hoped deep down on the inside. 

The two girls stood side by side as the guards slowly began to circle them; keeping their distance. Since the guard from earlier had claimed that they had magic powers, they didn’t believe him. But after seeing him being launched into the bar and practically breaking the table, that was enough for their suspicions to skyrocket.

“What’s going on?” Mei looked at the guards with a serious expression to her face, trying to act innocent in the situation, “Look, I said for him to not touch me. I didn’t think my kick would be that hard, okay?!”

“Oh sweetie, I don’t think that was a kick at all,” The female guard looked down at her with a small smirk drawn to her lips, “Perhaps it has to do with the fact that… you two have powers?”

Elizabeta and Mei felt themselves freeze on the spot. So Mei was right about accidentally blowing their cover.

“M-Magic powers?” Elizabeta burst out laughing while looking at the female guard, stepping up to her with no fear at all on her expression, “You’re crazy. Listen, we aren’t the ones drinking. You all smell like you have, so I’m going to assume you’re joking.”

“Oh come on, we saw you,” Another male guard spoke, interrupting Elizabeta on the spot while chuckling to himself, “The girl with the long black hair changed the music with a magic orb. You have powers.”

“What are you talking about!?” Mei glared at the man, trying to hold back from lashing out, “We came here to have some fun before our classes, and now you think we have powers? Did someone set you up to go after us?”

“We won’t hurt you,” The same man took a step forward and looked down at the two; running a hand through his hair while a devilish smirk began to grow on his lips, “As long as you use your magic for our benefit.”

The two girls were silent at this point. How else were they going to convince the guards that they weren’t magical beings? Mei could feel her heart beginning to drop. This was her fault… If she hadn’t listened to the stupid side of her brain and used magic to change the song. Let alone, use it again out of self-defense from being startled…

_What are we going to do!?_ Mei closed her eyes; sending a telepathic message to Elizabeta, _Do we just attack?_

_No!_ The last thing that they needed was to get in even more trouble than they already were in. She didn’t know what to do, she didn’t want to fight… Let alone, continue to expose them to magic when Earthlings weren’t supposed to ever know of it existing! _If we use magic again, the Ministry of Magix will detect magic usage. We can’t._

The silence from the girls was beginning to get to the guards. Seeing that they weren’t complying, one guard had called out in Russian, _“Shut off the lights!”_ Before turning back to the girls. He smirked and snapped his fingers, speaking in English, “Well, what are we waiting for? Get them.”

It was completely dark. No lights at all, to the point where Elizabeta and Mei couldn’t see anything while they looked around frantically. That was until a hand reached out and grabbed Mei; jerking her back from Elizabeta immediately as another hand reached over to cover her mouth.

“Elizabeta-!” She shrieked; beginning to struggle in the grasp.

“Leave her alone!” Elizabeta held her hands out; looking around frantically. It was too hard to see - so she had no idea where they had grabbed Mei off to.

“Make us,” A voice came from behind Elizabeta; slowly beginning to creep up to her while Mei continued to shriek and struggle more, “You better do what we say, or you’re going to be real sorry.” 

The voice was near her. In seconds, Elizabeta had turned herself around to be greeted to the sight of a large shadow lingering over her. She felt her hands form into a fist now; apologizing in the back of her mind for what she was about to do, before placing a hand on the shadow’s chest and shouting, _“Thadal unda!”_

The spell from the enchantment had resulted in the shadow that was about to touch her immediately having the person fly right against the wall from the club; taking a huge hit against the wall. Mei’s eyes widened when she noticed the glow of magic; beginning to shriek more in a panic behind the hand that was covering her mouth.

That was enough that Elizabeta needed to know where Mei was.

With her hands up in the air, bright magic had filled the dark area. She formed an energy orb, before launching it towards the sky as it hit against the ceiling and began sending multiple attacks to who she had directed it to. In this case, the spell being cast at those who weren’t magical beings, _“Knife of the wave!”_

Each attack that was sent from the spell had hit against each guard. One by one, the guards had begun dropping to the ground from impact. Even the guard that had been holding Mei by a restraint had taken a hit; falling straight to the ground as Mei gasped and held onto herself out of fear.

That was their cue to get out of there.

Elizabeta approached Mei and grabbed onto her wrist, beginning to lead her towards the entrance of the club. It may have been a hit of magic, but she didn’t go too hard to the point where it would kill them. And so as the girls ran, already, the guards were beginning to push themselves back up their feet to go after them.

“Let's get out of here!” Elizabeta ran to the entrance of the club, kicking down the door quickly where the girls were greeted to the sight of sunlight while running out. 

The thing was that just behind them, the guards were continuing to chase them, fast. 

“Where!?” Mei looked at the other while they continued to run; avoiding to look back. Instead, she kept running forward, avoiding all eye contact with the group of guards, “There’s no where to hide!”

Nowhere to hide… Mei was right about that. If they wanted to wipe all the guards out, they would have to use magic, But there could be no risk.

They needed help. 

Badly. 

“L-Let’s get back to the shop!” Elizabeta looked at the other, “Natalya and Florentyna should be there, right? They could help us!” 

It was a solid plan. If they were to get back to the shop with the guards following them, then they’d be able to maybe get some help with a crowd since they were technically being harassed against their own free will.

A plan that hopefully would get them out in the situation that they were in.

* * *

Cameras had been set out in front of the bakery. News reporters, journalists, and even some members of the community had been there in support of the grand opening of the upgraded shop. 

Inside the shop, Natalya had been standing there now wearing an entirely new outfit. Since she was expected to stand outside with her family as her father spoke to everyone, she had to at least look like she didn’t just come from school. She had been wearing a white dress with a skirt that rested just a little past her knees. Her hair had been down, while a braid was braided down the side of her head. She wore a bit of make-up, with the addition of wearing a pair of black heels, earrings, and her birth family’s locket.

Her sister on the other hand had been wearing a black dress with her hair also curled and pulled back halfway with a barrette. A smile was drawn to her face while observing the sight of their father speaking to those who had attended the event outside in a suit and tie, “Papa looks so serious, hm?” 

“Serious? He looks proud, if anything,” Natalya couldn’t help but to comment on the appearance of their father. 

After all, today was a momentous day for their family. So much had happened within the span of a year, with the shop getting on fire being the last thing that they’d imagine. But the fact that they were able to raise money and win their court case to contribute to a bigger, better version of the shop - all of them had been looking forward to it. 

Eventually, Natalya and Anya were greeted to Dmitri making an arrival to the shop with a suit on himself. He had walked in while Vladik was still handling the crowd; taking a moment to examine both girls, “Wow… You both look very pretty,” He smiled, exchanging hugs with both of them. However, on Natalya, he looked at her with a genuine, caring expression, “I’m so happy you were able to make it too, Natya.” 

“Me? What about you?” Natalya reached up to cup her older brother’s cheek, gently caressing it for a moment, “You’re so busy nowadays. I think we should be more proud that you’re here.”

“I agree with that one, Dmitri,” Anya chuckled in response to this claim while Natalya had pulled back from the older man, “You’re such a mystery. But, in a good way.” 

The man within seconds of hearing the compliments felt his face beginning to turn red. Natalya and Anya laughed at this, finding it hilarious - but it was expected from him. After all, out of the three, _he_ was known to be more of the shy and quiet one. Versus them, where they were polite, but also had a creepy aroma to them.

The sound of a door opening managed to catch the three siblings' attention. Turning around, Vladik had been standing there and motioned for them all to come out, “It’s time.” 

That was enough of a cue that they all needed. All of them exchanged looks with one another, before one by one, heading towards the entrance of the store. Anya had stepped out first, followed by Natalya, then Dmitri, who were all greeted to the sight of cameras flashing right in their direction.

Their father wasn’t joking at all earlier about how apparently this grand re-opening was very big in Moscow. However, one thing that Natalya couldn’t help but to notice had been she noticed Florentyna waving at her from the crowd, taking pictures of her own with her phone. All of the Pixies seemed to be together with her, which no one noticed at all. 

She also noticed one other person there… Well, a few people, actually.

And those were the people she had gone to high school with. Natalya’s eyes widened when one of them, in particular, stood out to her, with the familiar pink skirt and white jacket that he always seemed to wear whenever she was in town. Feliks smirked at the girl when making eye contact, resulting in him to wave at her all while Natalya was as stiff as a rock with her family.

The last thing she needed was to see Feliks. So long as she didn’t have to interact with him, fine. But the fact that a majority of her peers from her old school was there? She knew that this was a big grand opening, but why did the people she grew up going to school with _there?_ Hopefully, it wasn’t to see her…

…because she had no reason to be talking or acknowledging them anyway. 

The thing was, where were Mei and Elizabeta? They couldn't have gotten lost… Even though the city was overall huge, the area that she lived in was more of a quieter area of the city. There was no way they could’ve gotten lost that easily, right? Plus, they all had GPS on their phones - magical dimension phones that connected with all realms, nonetheless. So finding their way back should’ve been easy. 

A microphone was set up in front of the shop. In front of the microphone, there had been a large, grand ribbon and a pair of scissors resting on a table beside the three siblings. 

Vladik, who had come back from retrieving them, cleared his throat before speaking into the microphone clearly, “Thank you, thank you everyone for joining this momentous occasion.” He began, followed by an applaud from the audience in front of the shop, “As most of you already know, our family shop faced a tragedy a few months ago. However, thanks to the support of the community and justice, we were able to contribute to my wife’s shop and make it even better than before. With this being said, I’ve asked the three of our children to be the ones to open it for the first time. And if you stay afterward, they will be serving you.”

As the speech went on, Natalya continued to keep her eyes out in the crowd. She ignored Feliks who continued to smirk at her, but managed to make eye contact with Florentyna while standing at the front. Thus, leading her to bring her hands behind her back as she focused her magical energy at the moment to send her a telepathic message.

_“Where’s Mei and Elizabeta? Are they okay?”_

Florentyna’s eyes glew for a moment upon receiving the message. Looking around, she noticed that Natalya was right in her question… There was no sight of the two. She had supposed to been meeting with them there, and she figured they were just running a bit late… But, now they were really late if anything.

_“No idea. They said they’d meet me here.”_ Florentyna responded while staring at the other from her spot in the audience, _“They went to a club near the mall, but now I’m starting to get worried…”_

A frustrated sigh came from Natalya hearing this response. They went to one of those clubs, even though her own older sister warned them not to? She had been just about to send another response to Florentyna, though before she had the chance, her father had already turned the attention to her, Anya, and Dmitri, to proceed with the ribbon cutting.

Natalya took a step toward the red ribbon in front of the shop with her older siblings. She kept her eyes out the entire time in the audience, hoping to see something… But there was still nothing. Something didn’t settle right in her gut at all. She ignored the feeling for now before reaching for the scissors; holding onto it with a firm grip while her sister and brother reached over to place their hands on top of the scissor near the ribbon.

Cameras had been flashing in their direction at this point. Being the center of attention was one thing Natalya really wasn’t used to, but she kept herself calm as she opened the scissors and brought it to the ribbon. The blade was over the ribbon, where she and her siblings waited for the cue to cut it.

Vladik noticed this and gave a nod before speaking into the microphone; a large, proud smile on his face as he spoke in Russian, “Everyone, I’d like to welcome you all to the grand opening of our brand new shop!—“

_“HELP!”_

In the midst of his sentence, what sounded like a loud cry came screaming in their direction. Vladik had looked over at the direction of where the voice had come from, followed by everyone in the audience who seemed confused since it wasn’t really common to hear a sudden emergency. 

The voice, however, was one that Natalya and Florentyna immediately recognized upon standing there.

A few hundred feet away, there had been two girls practically sprinting for their lives. Elizabeta and Mei had looked absolutely horrified while they ran in a panic, while just behind them, what looked like five guards had been chasing after them with angered and determined expressions on their faces.

_“Get them!”_ One of the guards had shouted in the midst of the panicked cry for help, “They’re witches! They have powers!” 

Those simple words were enough of a confirmation for not only Natalya and Florentyna to feel their eyes widen, but for even Natalya’s family to feel the horror beginning to fill their expressions. Anya and Dmitri had looked right at Natalya since of course, they knew her secrets. Vladik looked at Natalya as well, then at Florentyna in the audience…

And alas, came the confused expressions from everyone in the audience as well.

Mei had been the first to push through the crowd of people, rushing straight to Florentyna who had already put her phone away. Florentyna grabbed onto the other’s shoulders while she panted in a frantic point of view, “What did you guys do!?”

“Ask the fairy of music here!” Elizabeta spoke in frustration upon approaching Florentyna, panting heavily herself as her face was bright red, “Someone decided to blow our damn cover!” 

The more they spoke, the more Natalya could feel her eyes widen even more and more. Did they not realize the fact that there were crowds of humans surrounding them!? Let alone, they were openly talking about magic then and there?

_“…A fairy?”_

_“Magic powers?”_

The guards had eventually managed to catch up to the audience in front of the shop. The sight of this was good for them… Cameras, people - that way, they had witnesses to what they were about to say. The woman guard took a step forward, pointing straight at where Florentyna, Mei, and Elizabeta had been standing while speaking in English, “Those girls have powers! They came running here because that blonde must have powers too!” 

Florentyna burst out laughing nervously and held her hands up innocently, “W-What? That’s not real at all!”

“Oh, yes it is!” Another guard spoke up in defense of the female guard. He had approached the three girls; while the audience of people had turned to face the scene that was taking place. It was an unexpected scene nonetheless, but, their attentions were now all caught, “We all saw them with their own eyes! They used their powers on us. We have one guy hurt badly because of one of them!”

“…What?” Florentyna looked at Elizabeta and Mei with a small smirk to her face, trying to hold back her laughter, “You guys beat up a guy?”

“Because he touched me!” Mei glared right back at the guard, her hands in fists from the amount of anger beginning to build up in her, “That’s touching without consent!” 

The more the arguing took place, Natalya, Anya, and Dmitri stood there as silent as trees. None of them didn’t know what to do. Even Vladik, who was staring at Natalya, glared at the girl before whispering underneath his breath to her, “Fix this, now.” 

Fix this? Natalya looked at her father as if he were crazy, unsure of how she could help at all. The fact of the matter was that there were guards pretty much exposing the fact that magic existed… And he wanted her to fix the entire situation, in front of an audience of media? Let alone, the people she used to go to school with?!

The longer her father glared at her, the more Natalya rolled her eyes and approached the microphone, speaking in clear English.

“I don’t know who you people are,” She spoke in a firm, direct tone of voice. This managed to catch everyone’s attention in the audience once more while she spoke. Even the guards and her friends were startled when she got herself involved, “But this is a private event. Leave before I call the police on you for harassing my friends.”

The guards stared at Natalya for a moment before laughing. It was when she had mentioned one thing though about the girls being her friends, that one guard rose a brow with curiosity to his face, “They’re your friends?” He looked over at the girls, “…Does that mean you have magic powers too? Seeing that you’re so quick to defend them?” 

“…Or a fairy?” Another guard spoke, glaring right at her now to see if she’d break and confess, “Just like your friends said out loud?”

Silence immediately came from Natalya while her grip tightened on the microphone. The audience began spitting out questions at the mentioning of magic powers. Even Feliks, who had at this point went to reach for his phone to record this, was staring at Natalya in shock.

“Natalya’s a fairy?” Feliks’ jaw was dropped wide open at this point, before bursting out in laughter since the sound of it was just absolutely hilarious to him, “This is going to be great to talk about at school on Monday—“

Panic was now formed on everyone’s faces. Not only Natalya’s, but Florentyna, Mei, and Elizabeta, who didn’t know what to do or say. How could have this happened? There was no possible way that these guards could just come claiming these things… But, the fact that her friends were confirming it more and more by talking openly about it, and the fact that Natalya didn’t know how to defend herself on the spot when someone accused her…

…The only thing that she could do was use the one thing that would get them out of that situation.

And that was magic.

Natalya took in a small sigh and brought her lips up to the microphone. Her eyes were closed while holding onto the mic; focusing herself before opening her eyes. This time, staring right at the cameras that seemed to have been recording the entire scene. 

_“Excindo sepelio.”_

The enchantment was said aloud, which resulted in within seconds, the cameras that were all pointed at the bakery and managed to capture footage of the guards approaching the girls on the spot, immediately froze. Camera operators gasped the second ice began to creep up around the cameras, that the second they were completely frozen, all Natalya had done was snap her fingers before it all shattered into pieces. 

“Natalya-!?” Florentyna choked out in a panic the second this was done, “What are you DOING!?”

What was she doing? She was saving themselves at the moment, because already too much was said and done. The benefit was that this wasn’t live, so all she needed to do first was to destroy the cameras before handling the actual people. Even Feliks, whose camera was frozen and shattered, felt his eyes widen the second Natalya had whispered the enchantment into the microphone and cast the spell.

“S-So it’s true?!” Feliks couldn’t help but to back away slowly from the audience; eyes widened in horror since he didn’t believe what he was seeing, “N-Natalya Arlovskaya has powers-!?”

Well, if that spell wasn’t enough of a confirmation, she didn’t know what else would be. 

Natalya took in a breath before holding out her hand for a moment. A bright orb of magic filled the palm of her hand at this point, before in seconds, what looked like a scepter began to take shape in her hand. The true powers of the dragon flame and heart of ice… They were both very powerful elements that she tended to not use a lot, but in cases like this situation, it was desperately needed. 

Gasps could be heard from the audience when the scepter had appeared in Natalya’s hand. Even her siblings couldn’t help but to stare in horror at the fact that Natalya was openly exposing herself to all these humans one by one… 

…Except, the one thing that they didn’t know, was that she was being smart about it. She would take care of everyone all at once - including the guards who harassed her friends in the first place.

As she stood there, she held onto the scepter and focused her magical energy into it. Everyone in the audience, despite being in shock, found themselves drawn to the positive energy that came from her magic. It had been all part of the enchantment, which didn’t affect her friends nor her family at the scene.

She had purposely set it as such for a reason.

_“Removous thy memory.”_ Were the first words she had said in the enchantment; her eyes glowing in power while everyone in the audience found themselves becoming more horrified. Even the guards were shocked, since just as they claimed, they were right about the use of magic! Alas, Natalya continued before pointing the scepter at the audience, _“In the name and safety of the magic dimension, you are to all forget everything about magic, fairies, and this spell. This will be the last time of your lives you’ll be in my presence.”_

A bright light of magic filled the area as the spell was cast. As it was, Florentyna, Mei, and Elizabeta had shielded their faces, all while the audience who had been watching - including Natalya’s old peers - found themselves in a daze while all of their memories from the last few minutes had been wiped entirely from their minds. By the time the bright light had disappeared, the scepter in Natalya’s hand had been gone. She was once again standing in front of the ribbon, the scissor in her hands while looking at her father.

“Go,” Natalya whispered, motioning for her father to continue on with the speech and pretend that nothing had happened.

Vladik stared at the girl, unsure of what she had done at that moment. Instead, he cleared his throat and continued with what he had said before, the audience and guards that were standing there, seeming all to be in a daze, “With that being said, please join me in applause as we officially welcome you all to the grand opening of the shop!” 

Confusion filled the audience as people were looking back and forth at each other. The cameras that were once destroyed, were entirely intact again. The spell had been enough to break the original cameras, but the thing was that the spell Natalya had cast was a healing one as well. It had not only wiped the memories of the humans present, but it had repaired the original cameras she had broken with the details of fairies and magic being discussed.

The media, who seemed to be shocked at the sight of the speech, immediately turned their cameras back on while waiting for Natalya, Anya, and Dmitri to cut the ribbon. The guards, who were completely phased from the spell, looked around in confusion at the sight of the audience.

“What are we… doing here?” The female guard blinked in confusion, looking around while rubbing her head, “Weren't we just at the club earlier?”

“Yeah!” A male guard had turned himself around after responding, “Whatever. I’m getting the heck out of here, no idea why we’re here in the first place.”

Florentyna, Elizabeta, and Mei had stared at the guards with their eyes widened in shock at the realization that they had completely forgotten about everything. The spell Natalya cast - it made sure that they forgot why they were there in the first place. 

Feliks, who was confused about what had been going on, looked up at the sight of the bakery and cameras pointed at Natalya. He had no idea what just happened, but based on the sight of people beginning to clap, he realized where he was now. And that was the grand opening of one of Moscow’s popular bakeries.

Alas, the ceremony continued. Once being given the green light to go, Natalya, along with her siblings, had used the pair of scissors to cut open the ribbon. Cheers and clapping could be heard from the audience as this was done, before soon, Natalya had been the one to place the scissor down before her older brother had turned on the light to signify that they were open for the first time, officially, in months.

The remainder of the afternoon was indeed a celebration. Customers flooded the bakery while the three siblings were rushing around tending to customers and making sales. Mei, Florentyna, and Elizabeta of course hadn’t gotten away with not helping out, especially seeing that Natalya was the one to cast the spell to save them at a time in need. The three girls assisted with taking orders, giving orders, and welcoming each new customer that was to step inside.

It was a long afternoon. One of a lot of work, but business was being done. The shop had closed in the evening, just because it had been a hectic day the second they had opened up for business. It also allowed the girls to bring their belongings back to the family’s home since after all, they technically were sleeping there for one night.

A feast was done by Vladik as a celebration for a successful day. He had prepared a proper Russian dinner for the three guests that were staying overnight. One that they all took advantage of because having food from Earth was a whole new experience compared to eating a homemade meal in the magic dimension.

Everyone had been sitting at the dining room table while eating their meals. All of them had been in conversation about the day, but at one point, Anya had been the one to break the ice about earlier as she looked over at Natalya, “Natya, I have to know,” She began, while her younger sister had been in the process of eating some potatoes, “What kind of magic did you use earlier? That was - amazing.”

Natalya looked up at her older sister when the question was asked. She shrugged for a moment and looked down at her plate of food; picking at it before swallowing the food that was in her mouth, “It was a memory-erasing one,” She answered simply, “…One thing that I’ve come to learn that… With these powers I have, I can conduct spells that technically anyone at the same level as me, can’t do. I only use these spells though in case of a major emergency… And well, today was a huge emergency.”

“I hope I can use that spell one day,” Mei couldn’t help but to sigh for a moment in thought, “There are so many things from my childhood I wish I could just, wipe away from people’s minds,”

Natalya paused for a moment upon hearing this. She remembered about earlier today, which was why she had lowered her fork and looked right at Mei, “I’ll teach you. But first of all… I don’t mean to break the mood, but what were you and Elizabeta thinking?” She began, frowning as she said this, “How the hell did you guys manage to expose yourselves that easily with magic?”

Elizabeta and Mei stared at each other for a moment. The guilt was beginning to settle in, but it seemed that Mei knew what to say as she spoke on their behalf, “Look, Nat…” She sighed, unsure of how to explain herself, “I just… Messed up big time. I thought using a little magic would go unnoticed, but I guess not. I wasn’t joking about getting touched though… I just panicked at the moment and cast a spell to protect myself. I didn’t realize it would let everyone see it.”

The explanation was one that Mei had been expecting for Natalya to blow up about. However, this wasn’t necessarily the case. Instead, the blonde took a sip out of her water before sighing softly, “I’m not going to judge you on that,” She admitted and looked at her, “I’d… use magic too if someone was touching me without my consent. Just be glad that the spell worked, and we’ll never plan on using magic here ever again. Okay?” 

Nods came from the three of them in understanding. At least there had been mutual agreement met between the girls. That way, if they were to ever visit Earth again, there would be no use of magic whatsoever. If the Ministry of Magix had found out that magic was used on Earth, then they would all get in trouble… The fact that Natalya was there and protected them was indeed lucky for them all. 

The remainder of the supper had gone through smoothly. Vladik being kind enough had bought a bottle of champagne for all of them to share after supper. He had smiled at his three children, “Even though today was a very… weird day,” He responded while holding his glass out after opening the bottle and pouring everyone each a drink, “I’m glad everything worked out. Even if I don’t like seeing magic around here, everything worked out in the end.”

“You said it!” Florentyna chuckled and held her own glass into the air with a small smirk on her lips, “Half of the time I wasn’t even paying attention, but I’m glad things all worked out! Cheers!”

_“Cheers!”_

One by one, they each began clinking the glasses that they had in hand one by one. Everyone in the room had their drinks, all while the Pixies were occupied at their own little table eating their supper that was made by Vladik. The whole topic of Pixies had to be explained to Dmitri and Vladik, which was an interesting one. While they couldn’t see them, Vladik didn’t mind preparing a very small plate for the four Pixies that were in the room.

Just as they were all to sit down and have dessert, cellphones in the room immediately had gone off.

Not just one phone, but all phones, belonging to the fairies in particular.

Florentyna placed her glass down and took out her phone, quickly unlocking it to see that it was a group message coming from Monika. She stared at it, noticing that she was wanting to video chat with everyone, “Oh, it’s Monika,” She began and looked over at Mei, Elizabeta, and Natalya, “Should I answer and we can all talk on my phone?”

“Sounds good to me,” Elizabeta put her phone on silence as she stood up from her chair. 

From there, she walked over to where Florentyna was sitting beside Mei, before kneeling and looking over her shoulder. Natalya had followed as well and looked at the phone when Florentyna had answered, thus allowing for the four fairies to be exposed to the sight of what looked to be a panicked, horrified Monika.

“Hey, Moni!” Florentyna had a large smile to her face, “What’s up?—“

_“There’s been an emergency!”_

The second this was said aloud, the four girls stared at the phone in confusion. Mei stood up straight and took the phone from Florentyna, “An emergency? What are you talking about?” 

_“T-The witches broke into the Tower of the Dead, it’s all over the news!”_

Monika had been sitting in the living room of their shared suite at Lenfia. In her lap, Lara had been staring with widened eyes, horrified at the sight of it while Tatyana was sitting beside Monika with fear brought to her expression. The television had been playing a news segment that went throughout the entire dimension.

_“Breaking News: A break-in has happened at the University of Dark Arts. No one knows what object has been stolen, but witnesses say that it had been the three witches associated with the destruction that was brought to Magix months ago.”_

The television had been playing in the background loudly during the call, allowing for the four to pick-up on the audio easily. Natalya had immediately reached for the phone and looked down at Monika, before noticing that Tatyana was beside her, “Tatyana, can you get in contact with the Headmistress and confirm if it was the Codex?”

“N-Natalya!” Tatyana looked at the phone as it was passed to her; her eyes widened since she didn’t even know if she was allowed to talk about the item, “Are you sure I should?”

“Yes!” A frantic, panicked tone of voice came from Natalya as she stood up from her spot. She held onto the phone tightly with concern brought to her expression, “I need to know. They couldn’t have found the Codex, they just, couldn’t. Not this soon, especially when we’re not there!”

“Uhm… Natty?” Florentyna looked at the other with a frown brought to her lips, “What’s a Codex?” 

As this was said, Natalya’s eyes widened. It was inevitable at that point… She couldn’t hide it from them. Let alone, after the events of what happened at UHB being made public without the mentioning of the codex, the fact that Natalya made it clear to Tatyana what she needed to know was enough for those who didn’t know, to figure out there was something more going on.

“The codex… It’s a long story,” Natalya explained and looked at the phone for a moment once more. She could just hear the audio of the television going off in the suite; feeling her hands turn into small fists. 

The panic was beginning to build up in her chest. This couldn’t be happening. No… The Headmistress said that the pieces were hidden safely under the former members of the Company of Light.

If this was the case, how come the witches were able to locate the second piece that easily!?

“We’ll be back tomorrow morning,” Natalya placed the phone onto the surface of the table and sat down, “If this is true…

_…we all may be in danger.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I managed to finish the chapter a week earlier than I anticipated! I guess you can say I was really excited to write this chapter, since talking about Earth in this story with the whole "magic dimension" existing is so interesting to discuss. The next chapter will be more of a triple-story (if that makes sense?). Meaning that throughout the span of a day, three different major events will be taking place with all the characters. 
> 
> It's important to the plot. Don't worry, nothing bad will happen... Or maybe, I like to add some twists into my writing when I can. ;)
> 
> As for when Chapter 7 will be up, I will again give myself two weeks to do it. Usually, I would do a week, (so as of me posting this, it'd be 09/19), but next weekend Super Mario 3D All-Stars comes out... Which I am HYPED for since I grew up playing Sunshine and Galaxy. If I'm not distracted (I will tell you 100% I will be), then I should have the chapter done. If not, please anticipate a release on 10/3/2020. 
> 
> UPDATE 9/26: Hi all! I've been SUPER busy with assignments in grad school. I am still writing the chapter and going as fast as I can. I have extended the release by a week. I'm so sorry for the delay - but I appreciate your support and patience! Thank you! ;u; <3 
> 
> Until then, stay magical!~ <3


	8. A Kidnapping, A Show, and A Third Codex Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Uhm… Natty?” Florentyna looked at the other with a frown brought to her lips, “What’s a Codex?”
> 
> As this was said, Natalya’s eyes widened. It was inevitable at that point… She couldn’t hide it from them. Let alone, after the events of what happened at UHB being made public without the mentioning of the codex, the fact that Natalya made it clear to Tatyana what she needed to know was enough for those who didn’t know, to figure out there was something more going on.
> 
> “The codex… It’s a long story,” Natalya explained and looked at the phone for a moment once more. She could just hear the audio of the television going off in the suite; feeling her hands turn into small fists.
> 
> The panic was beginning to build up in her chest. This couldn’t be happening. No… The Headmistress said that the pieces were hidden safely under the former members of the Company of Light.
> 
> If this was the case, how come the witches were able to locate the second piece that easily!?
> 
> “We’ll be back tomorrow morning,” Natalya placed the phone onto the surface of the table and sat down, “If this is true…
> 
> …we all may be in danger.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: 18+ CONTENT FEATURED IN THIS CHAPTER. 
> 
> AmeBel fans, you know what to do. Don't read this out in public. Enjoy <3

Silence filled the area. In front of the three women that knelt on their knees, a throne had been sat in place where a man had been sitting on it with robes and a crown on the top of his head. A table was placed in front of him, where two pieces of a magical object that would serve as a key was being watched by him.

Lord Demande felt a smirk form along his lips as he reached over to run his fingers against the objects slowly. Two out of the four codexes, right in front of him. The two most important keys that would lead to one of the most dangerous, powerful portals of the entire magic dimension to accomplish his mission.

And this mission was to make sure that in the future, his regime as a Kingdom would rule the magic dimension under his power. There was no reason to wait now to proceed with the next part of the mission.

The witches were granted their promise since retrieving the first Codex at UHB. With a part of Shadow Haunt’s dark energy radiating through their blood, they had enough power to break in the places where he suspected the remaining pieces of the codex were. It would lead them to all the hidden spots, with a guarantee that they should be able to find them.

And thus, leading to the current reason why he had called them a few days later after they had retrieved the second codex. The magic dimension was in a bit of a panic after hearing that there was a break-in at the Tower of the Dead, but no one knew the context of why. All that was known had been it involved the witches, which Gelinda, Aviana, and Nebula were number one on the wanted list of criminals in the dimension.

Things had calmed down since the events at the university. Lord Demande believed it was time to continue on with their plan.

“We are halfway done with obtaining all four pieces of the codex.” His tone was loud and clear to the three witches who kept their heads bowed in front of him. They all remained on their knees; giving their loyalty and dedication to him as their leader, “Things have calmed down in Magix, which is why I wish to proceed with obtaining the third piece of the codex.”

Aviana slowly rose her head at this statement. She, along with the other two witches, had no idea where the codex was. That was why she had turned to the Lord for a direction, so they knew where they could start searching, “And which location would this codex be?”

There were two possibilities, after all.

A devilish smirk formed on the Dark Lord’s expression. He stood up from his seat and approached the three witches, holding out a hand to reach so they could rise. Their undivided attention was just on him, and only him.

Nothing else. It showed their dedication and loyalty to him on the spot.

“The third piece of the codex…” He held his hands up in the air where what looked like a visualization created by magic was hovering over him. A visualization came to the picture, allowing for the three witches to have a visualization of the next part of their mission, “Is located deep in one of the most powerful villages in Magix that radiates positive energy. You three shall go to the Village for all Pixies and destroy everything in your way in order to find the codex. I do not care if bloodshed is made…

_…Bring me the codex.”_

* * *

The evening after the news was announced of a break-in at the Tower of the Dead left the girls on Earth in a state of anxiety for the majority of the night. For those who did know what the witches could’ve possibly stolen, the fact that there was a higher chance of them now obtaining all four pieces of the Codex to open the portal…

…Who wouldn’t freak out about that?

After all, a time and space portal would not only affect them, but it could affect their futures as a whole.

The magic dimension was on high alert. Not even Natalya knew of this, but the news being announced of the break-in had citizens panic. The witches weren’t in custody - could it lead to a potential battle similar to what had taken place earlier that year?

No one knew.

And so, all people could do, for now, was wait to see what would happen next.

A few days had passed since the events that had taken place on Earth. Natalya, Tatyana, Mei, and Florentyna had journeyed back to the magic dimension to continue on with their semester at Lenfia. The first few days of returning were stressful, seeing that none of them knew the next time that there would be an attack.

After all, the witches were much more powerful now that they just had the keys of the codex in general. It would be hard if they were to force themselves to Shadow Haunt to steal the keys back.

There were also a few other things that had to be planned for as well. One example is the fact that Mei had a performance to plan at the University of Heroics and Bravery. With being the opening act for their fall festival, she had spent the majority of her days preparing her songs and routine that she also planned on doing with Florentyna.

There was also a huge portion that her father would be visiting as well all the way from their home planet. She had a very large family, and with being the only daughter in the family, her father had high expectations for her. This included making sure that she graduated from Lenfia successfully, to the point where when she returned home, she would be serving as a guardian fairy.

The thing was… While Mei had wanted to be a guardian fairy, deep down, she wished to be something else.

A singer. A singer that would travel throughout the magic dimension, showing her passion and love for the ways of music. She hoped to inspire future musicians and show those throughout the dimension how powerful of an influence music can be. Not just through listening, but through their hearts as well.

This festival would be her opening gig. In addition, her coming out to her father with the truth about what she wanted to do.

The practice sessions she had in the suite with Florentyna to prepare brought her anxiety to the roof. There had been a point where Mei had sat down, questioning if this was really a good idea…

…That was until Natalya sat down and spoke with her.

Since she had asked the other to give advice on performing, Natalya had happily done so. After all, she hadn’t been a singer, but she had been performing ballet and figure skating for years, so she understood the pressure of wanting to do good. Natalya explained to the other her own personal journey as a performer.

The high expectations that she would succeed and do well… Then, at around sixteen, she had broken the news to her father that she wanted to retire from figure skating. He naturally was extremely disappointed with her, but her sister had to defend her about the amount of courage she had for confessing how she felt in the first place. It wasn’t that she _hated_ figure skating - it was the fact that she wanted to take a break just to focus on her other interests.

After being granted permission, well, a month later, Florentyna had shown up and broke the truth that she was a fairy.

If it was a similar situation, all of them would be by Mei’s side. Not only Natalya, but Florentyna, Tatyana, Mei, and even Elizabeta would be there for her to support her dream of becoming a singer. And that evening of practicing was enough for Mei to get up and continue practicing away with Florentyna.

Watching them practice that late afternoon was something that Natalya couldn’t help but to admire. The way that both Florentyna and Mei danced with microphones to a song that Mei had personally composed herself… It was amazing, It had been a duet that would finish off the performances for the evening, just to leave the audience in a bit of hype before leaving to tend the festivities of the event.

In the midst of Mei and Florentyna practicing, that was when she felt her phone beginning to buzz. Natalya reached for her phone from her back pocket to pull it out. Within seconds, all she had to do was look at the caller ID to see who it was. It made sense as to why she was getting the call…

…After all, she did mention to him that she would be going to Earth for a day.

Natalya stood up from Mei’s bed that she had been sitting on to step outside while the two continued to sing and practice their routine. She answered the call, followed by bringing the mobile device to her ear, “Alfred—“

_“Hey, honey. How are you doing?”_

If there was one thing that made her feel better after being stressed out for the last couple of days, it was hearing her beloved’s voice. There was something so relaxing about hearing a loved one’s voice, that she completely forgot why she was stressed out in the first place, “Okay…” Natalya responded after a moment, “…but amazing now that you called.”

The answer that Alfred was given was one that he wasn’t expecting to hear at all. Usually, she had said something sarcastic, but it seemed that she was being truly genuine to him at the moment, And so, he chuckled while sitting at the edge of his bed in his room. It had been the evening, so his classes and pieces of training were done for the day.

“Good, glad to hear that I can help,” He responded; chuckling in the process of saying this. There was a reason that he called her, which was why he had sat up in his bed, “There’s a reason why I called, actually.”

“Oh?” Natalya rested her back against the wall of the hallway she was in. She looked right at the wall across from her, which had been a few of Tatyana’s plants set up, “A reason? So you’re saying you’d only call me if you had a reason?”

There was the sarcasm. That was what he was waiting for, which had Alfred roll his eyes for a moment before standing up from his bed, “God, I love you.” He laughed, “No, no. I’d call every hour if that meant I get to listen to your beautiful voice… But I know you, and know you’re a busy girl,” He smiled now, which he had a feeling that got her to blush a bit.

And indeed, Natalya’s face was burning red at the compliment. He always knew the right things to say to her… Yet, there she was in all her glory, making fun of him from time to him.

“I got a call from my parents earlier asking if I wanted to come home one night for some dinner,” Alfred explained, getting straight to the point now. As he said this, he hummed softly to his tone of voice, “My dad diddddd say…… he wouldn’t mind if I invited you to come by to—“

_“Yes. When, what time, and do I have to look fancy for it?”_

That was the easiest answer to the question that he was expecting from her. After all, it seemed that since the first time she had visited his Kingdom in Eraqion, she was in love with it. Or it could be the fact that when she visited a few times that past summer, she got to have a real, expensive meal that she never got to experience growing up.

Alfred laughed again at her question. At least she was honest with him, “No no, it’s nothing fancy at all,” He responded, reassuring her since he knew damn well that even she wasn’t the type of person to go all ‘fancy’. And he admired her for that because it made her unique, “Just me, you, and my parents. Normal family dinner, that’s it.”

A dinner with his family. That was an excuse to go out and leave Magix for one night. She didn’t think it’d be any harm, especially since for once she’d be having a proper outside meal instead of whatever was offered in Lenfia’s cafeteria, “When were you thinking?”

“ _How about tomorrow evening?”_

As this was said, Natalya looked over at Florentyna and Mei. The two were still engaged in their little practice, which had her remember. Tomorrow was the day of the fall ceremony. She couldn’t miss it - especially since she had promised to help set-up backstage in case of any emergency. A small sigh came from Natalya while she kept the phone pressed up against her ear, “Tomorrow’s the fall festival at UHB, and I promised I’d help out—“

“Oh, I didn’t specify, huh?” A chuckle came from Alfred on his end of the phone, resulting in Natalya to tilt her head in confusion, “My bad, hun. I meant _before_ the festival since I got an invite to come too and promised to be there. We could go for an early dinner, and we’d be back before it begins so you can do what you have to do.”

The festival didn’t start until later in the evening… Plus having a good meal before doing some work did sound good in her head…

Natalya could go with that.

“Alright alright,” She responded with a small smile drawn to her lips. This was a rare sight, but she was genuinely looking forward to it, “Let’s do it.”

Alfred sat up from his bed and walked over to his computer. From there, he had turned it on to plan on sending a message to his family about getting Natalya to agree, “Great,” He responded and sat down in the chair connected to his desk, “I’ll pick you up tomorrow afternoon in front of Lenfia’s gates. You don’t have a class, right? UHB doesn’t have classes tomorrow afternoon, don’t know about you Lenfia ladies.”

Tomorrow most of the colleges in Magix would be assisting in preparation for this major event. Students, not all of them, would all be participating in helping out with the festival. It was, after all, an open event for not only students but their families and citizens of the magic dimension. Only morning classes were taking place. All afternoon and evening classes were suspended until the following week.

Natalya shook her head, “No. My original plan was to help bring things to UHB after my morning classes, but I’m sure it’ll be fine if I leave for a few hours and come back to set up actually at UHB for Mei’s concert.”

“…Mei’s concert, huh?” Alfred rose a brow in interest. He pressed the speaker option of his phone and placed it down beside his keyboard to continue listening while typing, “You performing?”

“Are you crazy?” Natalya was direct with her response. She was only helping out. She had experience in performing and set-ups, which was why she was playing a little bit of a ‘manager’ for Mei and Florentyna, so everything ran smoothly, “No way. I can’t do what Mei and Florentyna can do. I grew up doing ballet and figure skating, not singing.”

_“Aw, I would have loved to hear you sing.”_

“Oh shut the fuck up,” A small eye-roll came from Natalya as this was said, resulting in Alfred to burst out laughing on the other line. It always amused how a cute girl like herself had such a pirate mouth, he liked to call it. So anytime she got annoyed at him and cursed, it was hilarious, “It’s not funny.”

“It kind of is, babe,” Alfred pushed up his glasses for a moment to wipe off a tear. As he finished typing up his message to his father specifically, he sent it away and looked down at the phone, “Anyways, I’ll let you go for now. I’m figuring you have a bit of work to do before tomorrow, huh?”

“You have no idea,” A small sigh came from Natalya before she looked forward. From what she could tell, it seemed that Mei and Florentyna were taking a bit of a break. She was getting hungry as well and seeing that it was the evening, maybe she’d watch them do a little more practice before they decided what to do for dinner, “I love you. Sorry for telling you to shut up.”

A loud, dramatic gasp came from Alfred when he heard this. This gasp was enough to startle Natalya as she clutched onto her chest. Great, now she did it. “Wait wait wait,” He stood up, trying to hold back his laughter, “I need to record this, you actually apologized for something—“

“Now I take it back.” She immediately interrupted him, “You suck.”

The laughter kept going onwards. For Alfred, this was extremely amusing. He truly loved her, even all of her little flaws with that small, pirate mouth of hers. He smiled and leaned towards the phone, “I love youuu~ Be nice to your friends.”

_Click._

A small sigh of frustration came from the blonde after hearing the other hang up. He was right about her having work to do, but the fact that he had been taunting her on that phone call - it was typical Alfred. He had told her numerous times that he found her amusing, which honestly made her question why he liked her in the first place. She was weird, why would someone kind, weird, and funny want anything to do with her?

Then he would tell her that because it’s good to have more weirdness in the world. Especially in the magic dimension.

The phone was placed back into her pocket where she walked back into the room where Mei and Florentyna seemed to have been minding their own businesses on their phone. Now that she was done with that phone call, may as well get straight to business.

“So,” Natalya began before sitting down on one of the edges of the bed. Florentyna and Mei looked up upon hearing the other speak, now giving her their undivided attention, “Let’s finish preparing for tomorrow, and then how does dinner sound?”

* * *

The skies under the planet Eraqion had been dark. It had been a late evening, where deep in the woods, far away from civilization, a tower had been set. This tower being hidden by an invisible barrier, disabled travelers from seeing nor having access to it.

Only guards of it, as well as its owner, were allowed access through the barrier to get inside.

The tower had been about a hundred feet in height. On the very top, a balcony was set in a place where guards had been pacing back and forth with swords on their backs. Their task was to complete one thing…

…Protect the Godfather of the mafia.

The Godfather, who sat in his bed, had been in the middle of eating a meal. Beside his meal, a few documents had been set out, specifically in detail of each member of the royal family of Eraqion. First had been King Arthur being ruled alongside Queen Marianne, followed by the details of the only children that they had. Two sons, Alfred and Matthew, where the eldest was to take title as King by the end of next year following his graduation.

The older male ran a hand through his beard before taking another bite out of his food. Looking directly towards the details of the documents, Eraqion law states that once a Prince is crowned King, he is expected to find a wife to rule with him by his side. There had been no details of his current relationship…

However, there had been older details of an arranged marriage to be taken place with a Princess by the name of Alice from a neighboring Kingdom.

A smirk formed along his lips before he pulled out the document that discussed more about Alice. The details were as followed; she was chosen to serve in an arranged marriage with Prince Alfred after his coronation as King. However, it was discovered that he had an affair behind her back, so no one knows what is taking place with the arranged marriage at this point.

He had been just about to toss out the details of Alice… That was until he noticed one thing.

Apparently, the Kingdom her family had ruled, had been very wealthy. Not just wealthy, but even more wealthy than the royal family of Eraqion itself. It would make sense as to why King Arthur had chosen Princess Alice as a suitor for an arranged marriage, which had him form a bit of an idea.

With the snap of his fingers, magic had flown from his fingertips to turn on all lights in his room. This had resulted in what looked like two consultants of his walk into the room; greeting the Godfather with a bow of acknowledgment.

And soon, the older man spoke, “Gentlemen, I come with a request. Do you choose to accept?”

“Yes, sir.” The first consultant spoke with a serious expression drawn to his face, “We both accept graciously.”

“Wonderful.” His hands glew of magic as the documents in front of him flew directly towards the two men. The documents, being specifically about Alice, had landed in each of the consultants’ hands before confusion arose to their faces, “This woman you see is Princess Alice - a child of the royal family of the Kingdom Britine. She was to be set in an arranged marriage with Prince Alfred in a matter of months, but since the events of earlier this year, the arrangement has been suspended,” He paused and sat up in his bed, “I want you to find her. Kidnap her, and make sure to pass on a note to her father _and_ the King of Eraqion in ransom of a ten million worth in payment to not kill her. I’m sure both Kingdoms would be able to spare a half and half deal. Do not tell them who we are - just ”

Silence came from the two consultants. If they were to disobey the Godfather, there could have been major consequences. However, what was a bigger deal was that they were to be kidnapping a Princess… If they were caught or messed up, the family of Britine would arrest and most likely kill them for kidnapping a Princess.

But, it was their leader’s orders.

“Right away, sir,” The second consultant gave a bow as the document was folded up and placed into the bag on his side, “We will not disappoint you.”

A malicious grin formed on the Godfather’s face while watching the two men walk away. It was perfect in his plan… Once the Princess was kidnapped, there would be no way that both Kings of each Kingdom would figure it out it was him.

Especially keeping in mind that this Princess was once formally engaged to the Prince of Eraqion… King Arthur would have to help. There was no way he could deny it as loyalty and in the unity of this other Kingdom.

It was a plan that would put him in riches by the end of it.

* * *

It was a beautiful morning the next day in Magix. Students throughout all colleges had begun to get up, magical beings were going to work, and many had begun to make their travels to the city for the large festival that was to take place later that evening.

Classes for all colleges would be suspended in the afternoon as students would be expected to help UHB in preparation for the event. While this was mandatory for UHB and Lenfia students, Tower of the Dead witches had this as an option. After all, despite the events that had taken place earlier that year, the strong dislike and hatred towards fairies were still very much prevalent in society.

With classes not being finished until later in the day, this still meant that there were active classes taking place that morning. One of these classes, which included charm-casting with Professor Polonium, was one that was taking place as well. However, the one non-fun part about the exercises that were taking place in that class, had been once that revolved around weather.

And for Natalya, who had been standing underneath a miniature cloud that had been raining on top of her, drenching her in rain… She was _not_ happy in the position that she was in.

“…As you can see,” Natalya had her arms wrapped around herself; shivering slightly from how cold it had been. The rain didn’t help with the fact that there was a cool breeze outside, seeing that it was the fall. She had been glaring right at Mei, who had been nervously chuckling and hiding behind Tatyana with fear in her eyes, “Mei’s demonstration s-shows how w-weather can be a powerful addition… t-to your, arsenal of spells.”

The Professor was speechless. The entire class had been speechless. Since when he had explained about using a weather charm on a fellow classmate, he hadn’t expected for Mei to _actually_ use a weather spell on Natalya. He hadn’t ever seen a student so angry, yet as patient as Natalya before while she stood there shivering under the rain.

“That’s it for the presentation!” Mei had held her hands out towards the cloud, noticing that as the seconds went on, the more angry Natalya was becoming, “ _R-Reversus!”_

A bright flash of light-filled around the top of Natalya’s head. In seconds, the rain cloud had disappeared, leaving the girl dripping wet and holding onto herself while she shivered. Florentyna was the one to stand up next and run up to her before snapping her fingers; forming what looked like a miniature sun over her so she’d dry and warm up.

“Uhm…” The Professor stared for a moment. He didn’t know what to say while he held onto his clipboard, unsure of what to even write as a grade for the two of them, “I’ll… Give you both a passing grade for… Teamwork. But Mei, let’s try to… _Not_ give our classmates colds, yes?”

“I wouldn’t bother, Professor,” Natalya looked over at the man; her expression dark and annoyed. The look on her face had been quite scary, to the point where he jumped back from being startled, “I grew up in the cold. I could sit in a snowstorm for hours and never get sick.”

The monotone of her voice was enough of a hint that the girl was tired. Mei seemed to have been nervously chuckling to herself, which he sighed and watched as the class slowly began to applaud in confusion. Charming spells for second-year students was always a hit or miss… At least Mei understood that she messed up, so hopefully, she would be able to work on the direction of the charm the next time she was to cast it.

“That rain spell did not do you good at all Natty, nope, not at all,” Florentyna stared at the girl while resting her chin in the palm of her hair. She watched as the sun over Natalya continued to dry her, waiting for it to finish, “Your hair’s all curly and frizzy. Maybe I should create a spell that’ll give you a nice hairstyle after being drenched in rain.”

A small eyeroll came from Natalya before she lowered her arms. Her hair and face were dry. Now came the waiting part with her clothes drying, seeing that it would be the part that would take the most, “Let me know when you figure that one out,” She sighed, “Then I won’t have to worry about looking like a damn french fry all day.”

_“Ahem.”_

The sound of the Professor’s voice managed to catch the attention of all the students now. Even Florentyna and Natalya, who were in their small conversation, looked over at the sorcerer who had been waiting patiently for the girls to finish.

Once they did, he spoke, “Seeing that we’re close on the class ending, I’ll let you all go a bit early. Today is a busy day for all of Magix, after all. Especially for those who are volunteering at UHB’s fall festival this evening,” He explained, “So we’ll continue our presentations on weather charms on Monday. Remember, they will count 30% of your overall grade - so don’t skip. Have a good afternoon, ladies.”

All of the students who had been sitting on the grass had begun to gather their belongings to head out for the morning. Natalya stood in place underneath the miniature sun for another minute or so, just until her clothes were dry, before stepping out and reaching for her bag, “Thanks Florentyna,” She sighed and looked over at Mei, who seemed to have an innocent smile on her face, “Don’t you smile at me after that stunt.”

“I’m really sorry, Natalya!” Mei immediately blurted out and bowed her head at the other. Based on her behavior, it was very clear and obvious that she felt bad for what she had done, “I didn’t think the charm would go directly to you. I’ll work on it and make sure it doesn’t do it again.”

“Accidents are accidents,” Tatyana spoke out in defense of the other, noticing that Mei seemed to have become very nervous. She placed a hand on the other’s shoulder comfortingly; a small smile was drawn to her face as she did so, “We’re still learning fairies. Accidents like this are prone to happen.”

“Tatyana’s right. It’s okay, Mei,” Natalya shrugged it off at this point. What mattered was that she didn’t get sick. Plus, Florentyna was there to use a spell to get her all dry after, “I guess what matters is that we got a passing grade… But I should go back to the suite and get myself ready…”

“Oooh, that’s right,” Tatyana began with a small gasp before approaching Natalya, giving her a small nudge on the shoulder, “You have that dinner tonight with the Eraqion royal family, hm?”

That was the case. Yesterday evening, Natalya had broken the news to everyone in her suite that Alfred had invited her to join him on a family dinner before the fall festival, “Yeah,” She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, “The dinner’s at 4 pm, since the King and Queen know Alfred and I have to be back at Magix by 7 so I can help with your show later, Mei.”

“I… Actually have a bit of a silly request,” Tatyana had asked, humming softly to herself while the group of four continued to walk, “Would you mind if I tagged along?”

“To the dinner?” Natalya looked at the other.

“No no, to Eraqion,” Tatyana clarified with her smile continuing to grow inside, “For the charm’s project, I’m focusing on flowers of different planets. I was wondering if while you and Alfred were at this dinner, I could explore the city in the Kingdom for a bit and find a flower I can use.”

It didn’t seem to be a problem on her end. Natalya shrugged and continued walking, “I don’t see why not. I’m sure Alfred wouldn’t mind… He’s picking me up in the next two hours, so I’d say dinner will be an hour… You could go find your flower, then afterward we can all get back to UHB before Mei’s concert.”

That was a good plan. Tatyana nodded in agreement before giving a thumbs up, “That sounds perfect to me. It shouldn't take me long to find a flower anyway,”

“Okay okay, enough talk about the concert and flower. We have a bit of a crisis here,” Florentyna interrupted, stopping the group from walking. Tatyana, Mei, and Natalya stared at the girl as if she were crazy, but there was a reason why she stopped them all. Florentyna looked directly at Natalya, “Tell me you aren’t planning on wearing _that_ to the dinner.”

Natalya looked down at herself. Was there something wrong with what she was wearing? “…What’s wrong with it?” She asked in confusion. She had been wearing a pair of jeans, boots, and a floral blouse. Her hair was a bit of a mess, but that was why she planned on stopping at the suite to at least wash it before leaving, “Last time I was on Eraqion, I wore a normal outfit and the royal family didn’t seem to care.”

“That’s the problem, Natalya!” Florentyna brought her hands up to her face in a panic, “They’re being nice because you’re technically Alyona and Viktor’s daughter - they _have_ to be nice to you because you’re pretty much a higher class! But if you want to leave a good, jaw-dropping impression on him, I’m sorry babe, but I’m letting you borrow one of my dresses tonight. No ands, ifs, or buts.”

“…I wasn’t even going to say that—“

“Good!” Florentyna reached over to grab the other’s wrist, “Let’s go, then—“

“I _was_ going to say,” Natalya didn’t let her pull her off. Instead, she kept standing in place before slowly pulling her wrist away, “I’m going to change anyway because I feel gross and sticky, even if I’m dry from the rain. Second of all, don’t you and Mei have a rehearsal? Or am I that much of your manager in the situation that you two forgot?”

The callout had Florentyna and even Mei freeze on the spot at this reminder. Mei chuckled nervously and approached Natalya, leaning in slightly as she whispered, “…And when’s the rehearsal?”

Natalya glanced down at her watch for a moment, “In about twenty minutes in Lenfia’s auditorium. Don’t you remember? The Headmistress granted permission, so you guys have two hours to fuck around with things before everything gets moved to UHB.”

That was a reminder that both Florentyna and Mei didn’t think they needed until they heard it. Especially at the fact that it was supposed to begin in twenty minutes, that was a major hint that they should probably get going along while Natalya and Tatyana went to go get ready.

Mei reached over and grasped onto Florentyna’s wrist. With a firm grip, she began to drag the blonde away from both Natalya and Tatyana in the direction of the auditorium - opposite to where the second-year suites are, “We’ll be there, then! See you guys tonight!”

“Hey!” Florentyna began, not even stopping Mei from dragging her off, “I wasn’t even finished!”

Even if she wasn’t finished, Natalya couldn’t help but to let out a small sigh of relief now that Florentyna was away from the situation. The girl always seemed to have something to say to her about her outfits and appearance, so the last thing she needed was for her to freak out.

Especially seeing that the outfit that she planned on changing into for the dinner was a clearance outfit she purchased in Magix.

Tatyana watched the scene take place before bringing a hand up to her lips, laughing to herself. It was pretty funny seeing Florentyna behave this way, but that was how she always was. And so, she looked over at Natalya who seemed to have been sighing and shaking her head at the scene, “Well then,” She broke the silence, “Let’s get back to the suite. I’d be happy to help you out with your hair too, dear.”

Help was what Natalya felt like she needed. And so, she looked at the brunette and gave a quick nod, “Please,” She began, “If there’s one thing I’ll tell you, it’s that I don’t know beauty… That was my older sister’s job on Earth,” She turned her head back to the sight of Mei dragging Florentyna off, “She always did my hair before events, did my make-up… So any help is appreciated,”

Helping out friends whenever she could be something that Tatyana absolutely loved to do. She nodded and walked forward; Natalya just behind her while they walked towards the entrance of the second year suites, “I understand. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure the royal family of Eraqion is just as amazed as the first time they met you.”

Any and all help would be appreciated. Once the two girls were inside, they had headed directly to their suite where they would get right to work before Alfred would come to pick them up.

In the meantime, Mei and Florentyna had made it a priority to get themselves to the auditorium to practice. The thought of how they had to help set up at Eraqion had passed through both of their minds, that by the time they had arrived, they were greeted to the sight of instruments and microphones set up for the both of them to practice.

Students had been pacing back and forth in the auditorium, bringing back boxes of items and equipment towards a truck outside the building to have things brought to UHB. That was enough of a sign that the two should get practicing with their last rehearsal before helping out with others.

One student at one point had called out to the two, “Hey Mei!” She spoke, resulting in Florentyna and Mei to look over, “Looking forward to seeing you perform tonight! You’re going to be amazing!”

The support that came from her fellow peers did bring a sense of warmth to her heart. Mei smiled to herself and waved back, “Thank you!” She began before approaching the stage of the auditorium where microphones were set up. She stared at the microphone in front of her for a moment; running her hands along the pole of it, “…damn…”

The sudden change in mood that came from the other was immediately picked-up by Florentyna, who approached the other with her arms crossed, “Alright, spill it out. What’s on your mind?”

She didn’t even need to say anything and instantly, Florentyna knew that something was wrong. Mei looked at the other and gave a bit of a shrug before looking toward the sight of students rushing back and forth, “I’m sorry,” She sighed and looked over at the blonde with a smile to her lips, “I’m just a bit nervous, is all. I haven’t performed like this in probably years… and seeing that a lot of people are coming to this, well, this could be my big break if I manage to catch the attention of some music producer.”

“Ah, that’s right,” Florentyna sat down on the edge of the stage. Looking up, she made eye contact with the other, “I forgot you told me that being a guardian fairy isn’t just what you want to do, huh?”

That was right. One of her biggest dreams that she aspired was to travel throughout the magic dimension as an idol. She wanted to sing, dance, and perform - wanting to spread the love of music towards others. Especially as the fairy of all music, when she graduated from Lenfia and was a guardian fairy, she could incorporate her magic in order to establish that sense of connectivity in other’s hearts.

But right now, she was just a nobody. An aspiring musician that was a fairy, but if she did good tonight, maybe she could get her name out there in the industry. She looked at Florentyna and shook her head, “A dream’s a dream. Maybe it’ll happen one day… For now, we should start this rehearsal before we need to go.”

“You go first, then,” Florentyna laid back on the stage and reached for her phone, beginning to scroll through it. An annoyed expression formed on Mei’s face when she noticed what she was doing, aka, not wanting to participate until she was needed, “I’ll join with you when it’s my turn to perform - after your solo performance.”

A small sigh came from Mei. What could she do anyway? This was Florentyna, it was hard to convince a girl like her to do something. With her hands held out, a bright glow formed in the palms of her hands until it had taken shape into what looked like an electric guitar. She approached the microphone, staring down at the empty seats in front of her before beginning to string along what sounded to be a very hyper, energetic beat.

Her fingers went along the strings of the electric guitar at a fast pace. Florentyna at first found herself startled for a moment when the other began playing, but it was enough to divert her attention from her phone to look at the other so she could listen.

 _“I want to live forever. If I could live forever, everything would come true. But various things drive me into a corner.”_ She paused for a moment before continuing to play the strings of her guitar. Her playing and singing even at one point, managing to catch the attention of students who were working in the auditorium. Even for those who were just entering, which had been very important figures that she hadn’t noticed at all, _“The time I have left to live, the coordinates of my dream, the place where I am - They're all important things, but…”_

Students had stopped walking to listen to her playing. Something about hearing such exciting, energetic pumping music resulted in people to watch and begin cheering her on. Even at that point, Florentyna had gotten up from her spot on the ground to approach her own microphone, since she knew exactly what Mei had been doing.

She was practicing one out of two of their little duets for the performance tonight. But doing it solo? She didn’t think so.

The other microphone was grabbed by Florentyna as she smirked and looked at Mei, who didn’t do anything other than allow for the blonde to begin singing herself, _“All right, let's stay here for a little and eat something sweet. I only got good at turning off my brain like that,”_

 _"I desperately want to live. All these impatient days seem like they'll disappear,”_ Mei sung into her own microphone before looking up, noticing all of the clapping and cheering that came amongst their peers. She smiled to herself and continued to play along to the music she made with her guitar, _“But I try skipping class - it's all just so tiring... My thoughts are contradictory like that.”_

 _“It's like my head was hit somewhere while I was unaware. Alright then, let's make a quick stop at the hospital around here.”_ Florentyna continued off from where she had left off in the part of the duet; her hand holding onto the microphone now while smiling and watching Mei as she played the instrument in her hands.

At one point, the two singing in unison as the chorus part of the song began, _“It feels like I'm going to fossilize, just vacantly standing still the way I am,”_ The two paused before turning back to their microphones, _“My existence is going to darken, like something forgotten by everyone,”_

Clapping could be heard from the audience of students that had stopped working to take a moment to acknowledge the music that came from the girls. Florentyna smirked at this and waved to them, “Thanks, guys! You’ll get the full version later tonight, promise!”

_“Yes, now back to work, everyone. We’ve got a busy evening ahead!”_

The new voice had managed to catch both Florentyna and Mei’s attention. The two girls that were once occupied singing looked up to be making direct eye contact with not only the Headmistress, who seemed to be smiling and happy at the sight of them…

…But for Mei, her eyes widened in the realization of someone standing beside her.

“I hope you ladies don’t mind me interrupting your little rehearsal before this evening,” The Headmistress spoke out while taking a step forward. As she did so, she looked over at Mei and motioned to the figure beside her, “But I figured someone would like to see who came for a cup of tea in my office—“

_“BÀBA!”_

The guitar that was once in Mei’s hands had immediately vanished into thin air, where she had used a transportation spell to have it sent back to her room. Immediately, she jumped down from the stage and ran up to the male figure that stood beside the Headmistress. This figure, who had been a tall, older man, embraced Mei when she had run into his arms in a tight hug. He had been wearing what looked to be a uniform, while his hair dark, black hair had been pulled back into a low ponytail.

“… _Baba_?” Florentyna blinked in confusion while holding onto her microphone, unsure of who the guy was in the first place.

“Surprised?” The man chuckled at the younger girl when she had run over and tackled him in a tight hug. Seeing how she didn’t let go of him and head her face practically pressed into his chest, he looked at the Headmistress with a smile, “Thank you, Headmistress. I really appreciate you bringing me to her,”

“Absolutely,” The Headmistress gave a nod of acknowledgment to the other before turning herself around and waving off, “I do have work I must tend to, but please, do feel free to explore the campus. I’ll see you all later this evening for your daughter’s showcase. We’re all very excited to see her perform, especially with how talented she is. One of the most musically talented students we’ve ever had at Lenfia.”

That was when it all clicked in Florentyna’s head. Daughter. Showcase. The way Mei pretty much shouted ‘papa’ but in another language, it seemed, “Ooooh…” She turned off the microphone and stepped down from the stage. She looked over at Mei and her father, keeping her distance so she wouldn’t interrupt the conversation.

“I thought you said you’d be coming tonight!” Mei began when pulling back from the hug, absolutely excited to see her father. This had been the first time she had seen any family since leaving for Lenfia back earlier in the semester, so she was truly happy to see someone, “What are you doing here so early?”

“Well, I was in the realm on business, and I figured I’d stop by to check up on how you were doing,” The man responded simply, a small frown grown to his face upon remembering what the Headmistress had mentioned to him, “Are you busy now, dear? We could go for some tea in the city, I passed by a wonderful shop on my way here—“

“In a second, I want you to meet someone,” Mei reached over and grasped onto the male’s wrist, leading him in the direction of where Florentyna had been standing there in confusion, “Sorry for startling ya! This is my dad. Taught me everything I know about martial arts and combat.”

That was enough of a confirmation for her. Florentyna stared for a moment before gasping and holding out her hand, “Where are my manners?!” She watched as the older male took her hand to shake it, “Hello! I’m one of Mei’s friends and suitemates, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Mei talks about you all the time and all of her brothers back home,”

“Ah, you’re a friend, I see,” A smile came from the man as he gently shook the other’s hand. After pulling back, he examined Florentyna for a moment. He immediately knew who she was. It wasn’t hard to spot out the Princess of Solis, but he didn’t say anything, “A pleasure to meet you, Florentyna. You may call me Yao,”

Yao… Something about the name was familiar to her. She stared for a moment before tilting her head, “Hey, you wouldn’t by any chance be Shifu Yao, are you? The one who specializes in musical martial arts and kung fu for magical beings?”

“That, I am,” Yao responded and crossed his arms, a bit amused to hear this, “I wasn’t expecting to be asked that. Have you done martial arts before?”

“I haven’t,” Florentyna shook her head, being truthful to the other, “My experience with fighting is all at Lenfia with training to become a guardian fairy. But, I did hear about you and your training all over TV and magazines I read here in Magix. Plus, I’ve seen what Mei can do too.It’s absolutely amazing to work,”

“I trained her to be the best, after all,” Yao smiled and reached over to pat Mei’s head, who still had been happy at the fact that her father had traveled all that way to come and see her. And so, he had looked at her and placed a hand on her shoulder now, “Tea, Mei? Please, I need to talk to you about something important.”

Why was he so eager to go, all of the sudden? Mei looked at Florentyna with a frown, since she didn’t want to leave her - especially since they technically were supposed to be practicing for the show tonight. But seeing that she wanted to spend time with her father, she sighed and looked at the other, “Would you be mad if I cut the rehearsal short? Sorry about that,”

Florentyna gasped and immediately held her hands up, shaking her head at the other in reassurance, “Not at all! We’ve been practicing every day for two weeks, I think we should be okay. Plus, if my daddy was visiting all the way from home, I’m sorry, I’d drop rehearsal to go see him. Go have some fun,”

A relieved expression formed on Mei’s face before she spoke, “Thanks, Florentyna. I owe you one,” She began, now turning around to face her father who had been patiently waiting for her,

_“So, you said a tea shop in Magix?”_

* * *

In the midst of the woods deep in Magix, a dark portal had opened up in thin air. The portal had allowed for three figures to one by one, step out of it, all while keeping their eyes out on their surroundings to make sure no one would see them. There had been transports going back and forth in between Lenfia and UHB, so there could be no risks of getting caught.

As the portal closed, the figures found themselves flying in the direction of the branches of trees so they wouldn’t be spotted. The magical, negative energy that radiated from the women, resulted in birds and all living creatures with positive energy to immediately run or fly away from where they hid.

Less of a distraction for them if it meant the creatures would scurry off.

Upon their arrival, there was a bit of an issue. This one issue being the fact that they had no idea where they were going… Well, for Aviana and Nebula, this was the case.

But for Gelinda, she had the perfect idea.

Paying attention closely to the magical orb that the Dark Lord used, he seemed to have spied a lot on the pixels who were hidden in Lenfia as refugees until it was deemed safe to return to their village. No pixies were allowed to leave unless under the discretion of the Ministry of Magix. This was the policy for all Pixies…

…except for one, who worked directly with the ministry of Magix.

“She should be coming along any minute now,” Gelinda whispered underneath her breath while the two other witches watched from their spot in the trees, “She usually leaves around this time.”

Both Aviana and Nebula had no idea what Gelinda had been referring to when it came to her. Was she a fairy? Another pixie? A magical being that would lead them to the direction of the village? All of these questions filled their minds, until they were all greeted to the sound of what sounded like a creature humming and singing to itself.

Amare had been flying with what looked to be an envelope in her hands. As she flew ahead, she hummed to herself and played with the envelope. She was in the middle of delivering a message from Lenfia to the Village of Pixies. This was part of her everyday routine - which no one had known about except for those who were hidden at the Village, as well as for Headmistress Radella.

That was until the Dark Lord had made a discovery upon one day spying at the Pixies in Lenfia through his magic. He had discovered that there was one Pixie who left every afternoon to deliver messages between Headmistress Radella, the Ministry of Magix, and the leader of the Village of Pixies. He had only disclosed this information to Gelinda, and Gelinda only.

But not to the other two at all.

“So you’re suggesting here,” Aviana spoke up with an annoyed expression drawn to her face, “That we have to follow a Pixie to get there?”

“It’s the best thing we fucking have right now,” Gelinda was direct and straight to the point. In the midst of her talking, she shushed the other two and kept her eyes out from their position to see where Amare would be going.

The pixie continued to happily hum to herself, not even aware of the fact that there had been witches spying on her. She kept her eyes up ahead while holding onto the letter; going specifically North where the Village had been located. Once she was a good distance ahead, this was the cue to officially come out and follow.

“Stay low and keep quiet,” Gelinda glared at the other two before holding out her hand. A bright light formed in her hand, resulting in what looked to be a broomstick as she sat on it and began to fly; following Amare and keeping her eye on the Pixie, “We cannot allow ourselves to get caught now.”

* * *

The process of getting ready to leave was one thing that Natalya hadn’t expected to be that easy to do. She had allowed for Tatyana to be the one to help her choose out an outfit that was _appropriate_ for a dinner with a royal family, as well as fixed her hair after the incident from their class earlier, and even showed her how to put a bit of make-up on.

If there was one thing that she was not an expert on, it was make-up for sure.

Stepping out of the suite, Natalya looked reasonably ready for a date compared to Tatyana, who went in casual attire. She wore a white dress with an accompanying jean jacket and pair of boots - suitable enough for a ‘casual dinner,’ but also acceptable enough for a royal family.

She only planned on tagging along after all, for the flower for her project. The two girls walked out of the dormitory, going directly to the gate of the school. They passed through the main campus, where students seemed to have begun making their departures to UHB. The two would be joining on later in the evening, but for now, they would take their time.

The thing was that to their surprise when they had arrived at the front of Lenfia’s gates - there seemed to have been an aircraft parked already. It had been an aircraft from UHB specifically, leaving for Natalya and Tatyana to stand in place, confused.

There was no way that Alfred could be early, right?

To their dismay, this seemed to be the case.

The entrance of the aircraft slowly opened as the two girls went through the gate of the school. Both Natalya and Tatyana and shielded their faces from the impact of the wind that had come from the door opening, all until the figure who had been inside the ship seemed to reveal themselves.

_“S’up ladies. Care to join us?"_

Gilbert stood at the entrance of the aircraft with what looked to be a large, smirk on his face. If there was one person that they weren’t expecting to see, it was him. Natalya approached the aircraft with Tatyana following just behind her, clearly confused on what was going on, “What are you doing here?”

A pause came from Gilbert as he smirked and slowly slid a hand around Natalya’s shoulder, pulling her close before tilting his head in a bit, “Don’t you remember what I do outside of being a hero, sweetie?”

“ _Not_ touching me without me breaking the both of your arms,” Natalya leaned forward with a small smirk to her lips, “ _Sweetie.”_

The threat was enough for Gilbert to pull his arm back away from the girl. After seeing the crazy amount of power that she had, he wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case. Even for Alfred, who had also stepped outside from the aircraft looked over at Gilbert since he had heard the comment. He placed a hand on the other’s shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze, “Couldn’t have said it better myself.”

“The question still applies, though,” Natalya turned her head over to Alfred, who seemed to be in bliss at her attire. To him, she looked absolutely beautiful. He didn’t know who did her make-up, let alone, gave her such a pretty outfit - but he was shocked to be seeing her so dressed up for a normal dinner. Alas, Natalya spoke, “What are you guys doing here so early?”

“Well, I figured if I showed up a little bit early, I’d get brownie points as a boyfriend for doing something right for once,” Alfred chuckled, only joking around while the other rolled her eyes in response. Typical. He knew she liked to be on time for things, so she figured that at least she’d give him kudos for putting in the effort, “Also, I’d like to leave before traffic gets bad here in Magix for the fall festival.”

“As for me,” Gilbert shrugged and looked over at the two ladies, “I’m just doing my job as a Prince aide as I’ve been doing for almost ten years now. Piloting, watching the aircraft while you guys get dinner. Duh.”

A Prince aide… That was right. Natalya had forgotten for a moment that Gilbert was technically held responsible to watch Alfred and didn’t get into a mishap. During that time growing up, that was when their friendship had blossomed into becoming best friends, followed by making the mutual decision of attending UHB together to become heroes in the magic dimension.

“And what’s this beautiful fairy of nature as well doing here?” Gilbert had commented, looking over at Tatyana whose cheeks seemed to have become red the second this was said aloud.

Tatyana held up her hands innocently while a smile of her own had been formed along her lips, “I actually wanted to ask if I could tag along. You see, Natalya and I are in a charms class together, and I’m working on a project about different flower charms. I was wondering if while you two were at dinner, I could explore the city a bit and get a flower for my research.”

Alfred rose a brow in interest when he heard this, “I don’t mind at all,” He stated and looked at Gilbert, raising a brow, “You’re not doing anything. Why don’t you show her around? I feel like you’d be the expert compared to me, since while I was born and raised in Eraqion,” He leaned in and whispered, “Truth is, I never got to go visit my own city a lot.”

“That is… Incredibly sad,” Natalya couldn’t help but mutter to herself since for one thing, that did sound like a sad situation. Not being able to visit your own city due to being a Prince? She wouldn’t know how to handle that.

“No problem,” Gilbert nodded, giving Tatyana a bit of a thumbs-up, “Don’t worry. I know all the back-ends of the city of Eraqion. There are a few parks there that families like to bring their kiddos to, so I’m sure we can find a flower there.”

What looked like relief formed on Tatyana’s face when being told this. After all, she didn’t want to intrude at all, “Really? Thank you,” She responded, “I appreciate it.”

“Alright, let’s get going,” Alfred motioned for the two women to come on board. It was noticed that he was in a bit of a rush, but when he had said that he wanted to beat the traffic, he was serious about it.

Natalya and Tatyana both walked into the aircraft and took their seats. The door was closed by the two men, who then had made their way to the pilot seats of the aircraft. Alfred in the main pilot chair, while Gilbert was seated in the co-pilot chair. The two men had started the ship before Alfred had been the one to turn around and look at the others, “Seat belts on please, ladies,”

“But what if I want to be irresponsible and launch myself out of my seat?” Natalya spoke in a sarcastic, joking tone of voice while she indeed did put her seatbelt on, “Sounds more fun.”

Alfred chuckled at this and turned his head back to the controls of the pilot chair. After pressing a few buttons and turning a key, he had slowly begun to push against the gas handle while keeping his eyes up ahead. He knew she was joking, and so, he responded himself, “Then I’d be sad because I wouldn’t be doing it with you.”

“Smooth,” Gilbert looked at the other with a small eye roll; keeping his eyes on the monitor board.

Within seconds, the aircraft had risen itself into the air. It was with a burst of speed that it had gone flying off away from Lenfia’s campus.

While visiting Eraqion was not a new experience for Alfred, Gilbert, or Natalya - it was a new planet for Tatyana. She hadn’t visited a lot of the planets in the magic dimension, so to have the chance to tag along for a research project, it was a great opportunity and she looked very forward to it. The entire trip, she had a bag next to her that she had brought along, where she had been preparing small dials to take her samples of the flowers. In addition, she prepared a sheet in her notebook to take some notes.

The trip itself would be about an hour. While the majority of the trip was quiet with Tatyana silently working, and Alfred and Gilbert focused on piloting the ship, there was that sense of nervousness that built up in Natalya upon arriving closer and closer. She didn’t know why, but something about drawing nearer to Eraqion…

…It felt like there was something wrong.

Something wrong that she couldn’t pinpoint. Usually, her powers would attempt to warn her if there was a situation going on, but it didn’t seem like the case at all. It felt like her nerves were beginning to catch up to her, seeing that after all, the last time she had visited the royal family, she felt like she was going to throw up the first time.

She thought it’d be easier the second time, but it didn’t at all.

Alfred, who had been focused on piloting the ship, noticed the sudden change of behavior that came from Natalya. She had been more slouched in her set, as well as had her eyes closed. He assumed she was taking a nap, but he still looked at her from his rear-view mirror, “You okay, babe?”

The comment caught her off-guard as she opened her eyes and looked over. The truth was, no, she wasn’t. She knew they were far away from Lenfia, and now that they were approaching closer, that feeling in her gut that something was wrong was truly beginning to get to her. But instead, she lied and shrugged, “Yeah, I’m okay,” She responded and sat up, “I’m just a bit nervous. You know me.”

“Nervous?” Gilbert paused and pressed a button on his end of co-piloting so it would be on autopilot. He turned to face the other with his brows risen in amusement, “You, Natalya Arlovskaya — No wait, Natasha Braginskaya, the Princess of the entire magic dimension, is _nervous_?”

Was it that big of a deal? She scoffed slightly and crossed her arms, “Just because that’s who I am technically, I’m still human and have emotions.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Gilbert chuckled and turned his head back to get back to work, “I just would imagine someone of being a higher power than the royal family of Eraqion being more nervous for them.”

“You’re not helping,” Alfred looked at the other with a bit of a glare, which immediately got the other to go quiet quickly. Instead, he set his own piloting chair into autopilot to get up; approaching the other before looking down at her in her seat. He reached over and placed a hand on top of Natalya’s head, which caught her off guard at first as she looked up at him, “Don’t worry hun. If anything, my family loved it when you visited in the summer. They were the ones who asked me if I could bring you.”

That was a valid statement. A small sigh came from her as she looked up at him; reaching to place her hand on top of his, “I guess you’re right about that,” She wouldn’t argue with it, “I usually end up being nervous about the wrong things,”

Alfred had leaned forward and placed a small kiss against her cheek out of reassurance. She seemed to be stiffed despite his reassurance, but he wouldn’t push too much on it, “Don’t worry, I’ll be there by your side the entire time,” He gave her a small wink before turning himself around and walking back to his pilot’s seat.

Once seated, he switched back to manual control of the ship and focused ahead, “We should be arriving in the next ten minutes, so sit back and relax for now.”

Ten minutes away… Why did her heart still not feel good about it? Natalya knew that she should be excited. She was excited over the summer when she had the chance to go and visit for the first time - but this one was different. She wasn’t nervous about seeing Alfred’s family at all. They were all polite and nice to her, wanted to get to know her, and didn’t seem to cause any issue at all.

Especially when she thought at first, they would dislike her because she was the one who technically made Alfred fall in love with her when he was supposed to be in an arranged marriage.

But since the truth had been discovered about her, they didn’t question their relationship at all and let it be. Could it be because their son was with a better suitor knowing that she was Viktor and Alyona’s daughter?

Truthfully, she had no idea.

The aircraft slowly began to land upon approaching the palace of the Kingdom. This was where both Natalya and Tatyana had the chance to look out the windows of the aircraft, where they were greeted to the sight of the grand palace. At the front of the palace, there had been a fountain with beautiful bushes of roses, while a golden gate surrounded the area to make sure there weren’t any intruders.

The thing was that as they were landing, it seemed that they weren’t the only aircraft landed in front of the entrance.

Both Alfred and Gilbert immediately noticed this.

“Uhm…” Gilbert looked over at Alfred, who seemed to be equally confused as him, “Is that a high-security craft right there? Or am I crazy?”

“Yeah,” Alfred felt his brows furrow a bit. There was something wrong there. Sometimes there were cases where security would have to run and do a check-in with his father once a week, but it wasn’t the day they normally would come. Today was a Friday… And they usually came Mondays.

The conversation that was made by the two men though were immediately picked up by the girls in the back. Natalya sat up a bit in her seat and spoke out, “Is something wrong?”

“…There could be.” Alfred looked at the other with a small shrug. He honestly had no idea. If there was an emergency, his family would call and let him know, right? Or did something just happen now that they couldn’t reach him?

The aircraft was slowly lowered to the ground. Once they had touched base against the dirt road of the entrance, everyone had stood up from their seats and were escorted out of the aircraft by Gilbert, where he had been the one to lock it. It seemed that the second Alfred had stepped out first though, two guards who had been at the entrance looked right in his direction.

“Your highness,” The first guard approached Alfred upon recognizing him, giving him a brief bow, “Your presence is requested in the throne room. Including Sir Gilbert’s. Immediately.”

“… _Now?”_ Alfred stared at the guard for a moment before looking behind him. There were a lot of guards out tonight, now that he was noticing… A lot in the front, a lot inside… “Did something happen?”

“Please, your highness,” The second guard motioned him to step inside, “Bring your friends along as well. It’s a word with your father,”

The second it was made clear to the group of four that it was the King directly requesting them all, Natalya felt her heart drop. The suspicion only grew more and more while examining the area. Her heart had told her something was going on in Eraqion, but she had no idea what it was. First, there was the negative energy that came while they approached closer and closer to the planet, then the high security being present… Now, there were a lot of guards and the King _personally_ invited them all to see him?

It was a strange timeline of events that she found herself becoming very uncomfortable thinking about.

Alas, the group did follow the guard after being instructed to do so. There could be no questioning about it. If it was the King that was requesting them, then it had to be done.

Alfred had his arms crossed the entire time; an annoyed expression grew to his face. He didn’t allow for the other three to see it, but the fact that they were being called into a meeting so unexpectedly after what was supposed to be a normal dinner was _not_ how he wanted the evening to go.

The issue was that the more annoyed he became, the more pent up and stressed he found himself becoming. Thousands of questions were lingering through his head… Was his family okay? Did someone part of the royal court get hurt? He had no idea, and wouldn’t know how to forgive himself if he knew that someone close to him was hurt.

The throne room was absolutely gorgeous upon stepping inside. There was no denying the fact that it felt like walking into a whole different world compared to the accompanying beautiful palace. There had been plenty of space, which showed that the throne room also served as a ballroom for special events. The four waited outside the grand doors before a guard had opened it, revealing the sight of it to all of them.

A long, red carpet extended to two thrones at the end of the room where a small staircase was. Curtains hung along the walls, as well as paintings and portraits of the royal families that had come along throughout the years. Generations and generations of Alfred’s family was what Natalya came to learn since her first visit at the palace. A chandelier was right in the middle of the room, which glistened under the light as the four of them walked down the carpet towards the two individuals who had been seated in their thrones.

And that had been the King and Queen of Eraqion.

Immediately, Gilbert and Tatyana found themselves bowing to them. Natalya had noticed what they were doing and immediately copied what Tatyana had done in a bowing posture. She knew she was royal, but as Florentyna always joked around, she always acted like a Princess from Earth seeing that she had no idea what she was doing 90% of the time.

Alfred however, stood there with his arms crossed with no change in posture. Instead, his eyes directly were glaring at the bright green orbs of the older male who sat on his throne.

King Arthur was a very influential man throughout the Kingdom of Eraqion. While Alfred had a lot of respect for the man for teaching all of his knowledge, he was a hard man to convince. Convincing the man to allow him to go to UHB to pursue his studies in becoming a hero took months to do. It wasn’t until the Headmaster of UHB had personally welcomed himself to the Kingdom of Eraqion and convinced the King otherwise to let his son go.

Then, there was the Queen. Queen Marianne was very gentle, but could also be tough on both of her children if she had to. She was a caring mother, wise and advising, and even bickered at times with the King when he was doing something wrong that she believed could do better. The situation with allowing Alfred to attend UHB for example - she was in full favor of it but had argued with the King for weeks about agreeing to let the poor boy go out and become a man.

And she was proud of the hero that her son was becoming.

Silence filled the throne room the longer the group stood there. Alfred, who was completely unphased at that point, looked directly at Arthur where a serious expression was drawn to his face. But being him, the blonde smirked and crossed his arms, “So, I’m assuming dinner is canceled for tonight?”

What sounded like a hint of laughter came from Natalya the second this was said. She immediately gasped and shut herself up by covering her mouth and keeping her head down; avoiding all eye contact with the King and Queen. Fortunately, they hadn’t heard her at all, but the question was listened to.

“There’s been an unexpected emergency, Alfred.” Arthur finally spoke after a moment. He turned his head over to the group that had been bowing at him; now motioning his hand for them to rise. Once they all did, Gilbert, Tatyana, and Natalya were all silent while waiting for the older man to speak, “One where I believe we may be targeted by terrorists, which is why I’ve asked for you to come here with your guests for safety.”

“…Terrorists?” Alfred’s brows furrowed. That didn’t make sense at all. Terrorists were never an issue in Eraqion… And now suddenly, the day that they were supposed to have a normal dinner, they suddenly exist? There hadn’t been any terrorist cases in the magic dimension in general for possibly decades, “You’re joking, right?” The glare he received from his father had the blonde back up a bit with his hands held up innocently, “I’m serious, dad. Terrorists haven’t been an issue _ever_ in Eraqion - let alone, the entire damn magic dimension. Do you have any proof?”

The large brows that had been on Arthur’s face narrowed a bit at the accusation that was coming from the younger man. All he had done was snap his fingers before what appeared to be a note appearing in his hand. This had Natalya and Tatyana’s eyes widen at the sight of magic being used.

That was right.

He was a wizard. Not just any wizard, but one of the most powerful wizards of Eraqion. And while Alfred did not inherit any magical abilities at all, unlike his mother, who was human - his twin brother did.

The note flew directly towards Alfred, resulting in the man to catch it and open it up quickly. And so, he read the details quickly to himself in silence.

All it took was a few seconds for him to scan it once, before pausing and looking up at his father in confusion, “…What is this? Another joke?” He began and lowered the note down, wanting to hear it directly from the man than just a note, “A terrorist group is threatening you to give up some cash, or else they’re going to kill—“

_“They’ve already kidnapped her, Alfred.”_

The voice of his mother speaking now had Alfred go silent. The note was opened once more, just to confirm what he was reading before he had approached the staircase of the thrones to hand it back to his father. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

Especially with _who_ it was involving.

“When I received this note, I had the same thoughts you had, Alfred. A joke and a waste of time,” Arthur explained briefly, getting straight to the point. The more seconds passed, the more pent up Alfred found himself becoming out of frustration of how unexpected the situation was, “…Until I received a phone call earlier from Alice’s parents. She had been asleep, and two individuals had broken into her room, and she was gone. I assured them that here in Eraqion, we’d do everything we can to help… Including you helping us find her.”

_“What.”_

“You spent almost two damn years trying to convince me to go to that University for Heroes, yes?” Arthur had questioned the other and leaned forward; daring for the man to question him back about it, “And I allowed you, so I am expecting now that you’re close to graduating, you must meet every requirement to serve as an advanced hero… Am I not correct, Alfred?”

Silence came from the man when this was said. Alfred could feel his hands turn into fists when being questioned. He had even turned to his mother, who for once, hadn’t argued with his father at all. She was in agreement with him. It was true that he had been training to be a hero, but to go and rescue _Alice_?

It would be against his own responsibilities of a hero to not go and save her.

“…Come on, dad.” Alfred looked at the other, almost pleading at this point, “You saw what she did back at UHB in the Spring — She almost killed and hurt people because of a misunderstanding—“

“A misunderstanding _you_ caused, son.” Arthur stood up at this point and glared down at Alfred again, which got him to go silent. The intimidation was strong from him. Even for both Natalya and Tatyana as fairies, they could easily detect the fact that his powers were at a high, energy level, “And as a hero, you’re going to serve your duty to this dimension. Consider this your first mission. Rescue Princess Alice and this discussion of you attending UHB will never be brought again.”

Again, Alfred was not in favor of the idea. He knew that the right thing to do was to go and help - but with everything, the woman put him through? It was similar to asking him to go and jump off a cliff if anything, “I did swear to the heroes oath,” He insisted once more, wanting to mark his ground in the situation, “Alice has magic, she can take care of herself—“

_“—He’ll rescue the Princess, your majesty.”_

The new voice managed to catch the attention of both the King and Queen, as well as for Alfred who seemed to have been in their intense conversation. Natalya had taken a step forward at this point, completely unphased by the situation. She looked at Alfred for a moment; his eyes widened in shock from what he was seeing. She placed a hand on Alfred’s shoulder before looking over at King Arthur, speaking clear to the other, “I’ll make sure of it. And I volunteer myself to rescue her as well.”

“…And who said you had permission to speak to the royal court?” The Queen responded to Natalya in a demanding tone, expecting her to be phased by it.

“Nat, don’t—“ Alfred began, looking at her since this was his situation, not hers at all. The last thing he wanted was to paint the already good image that his parents had of her, and the fact that she was doing exactly what a Princess _shouldn’t_ do, this wasn’t turning good at all.

 _“_ The Ministry of Magix, your majesty.” Natalya was completely unphased when speaking to the Queen. This had the older woman’s eyes widen when she had said this, before looking at the King, expecting for him to say something about the disrespect that was coming from her mouth. However, it was quite the opposite.

King Arthur was smirking.

He was amused, to say the least. Instead, he sat back down in his throne and looked down at the girl; waving off his wife as if her questioning didn’t matter at the moment, “I’ll allow for her to speak,” He began, the smirk still growing as the seconds passed, “Go on, _Natasha._ You’ve got my attention now."

Did she really? Natalya’s eyes widened for a moment since at this point, she was only speaking up in defense of Alfred because for once, he was being a wuss in the situation. She personally wouldn’t want to rescue someone like Alice after the woman tried killing her months ago, but she didn’t like the fact that his parents were talking down at their son.

She never got to see her birth parents. Both the King and Queen needed to be more fortunate that they were able to see their son, while her father was deceased and no one knew what happened with her mother.

But, she also believed that Alfred shouldn’t be talking back to his parents as well. If she had done something like that with her father on Earth, he’d laugh in her face and proceed to ground her for the next month.

“As I said, we’ll rescue Alice. _Together.”_ Natalya repeated herself once more. Alfred’s eyes widened at this, looking at his girlfriend now as if she were serious. She lowered her hand now from Alfred’s shoulder and took a step forward; making direct eye contact with the King at this point, “Even as a bonus, guaranteeing the safety of the Prince and making sure no harm comes his way.”

The King was heavily amused at this point. A girl like her, offering herself up to the plate just like that? And he knew that she was the one Alice attempted to murder earlier that year… Why all of a sudden, would she desire the interest to help in the situation, “A fairy in training from Lenfia offering to rescue the one who tried to hurt her… This doesn’t anger you?”

“No, your majesty,” The truth was, it hurt at the thought of doing such a thing. Natalya would do anything to beat Alice up if she had the chance to, but she reserved and restricted herself to such ways. She stood her ground; trying to not allow the intimidation to get to her from the King, “As Alfred… And Gilbert has their heroes oaths, I also have my promises to fulfill as a future guardian fairy. And that’s to protect all magical beings, even my biggest enemies and foes.”

He was convinced. The King stood up at this point and walked down from his throne, only to make direct eye contact with the girl. Tatyana and Gilbert stood back but could feel their expressions beginning to go pale at how sudden the King approached both Alfred and Natalya with no hesitation.

Did she say the right thing? Did she say the wrong thing?

No one knew.

 _“Interesting…_ Very interesting indeed,” The King hummed to himself; keeping the eye contact directly with the younger girl. She looked very strong-willed… It was no secret that all royal families throughout the magic dimension knew all the different families. Even the King and Queen of Eraqion knew the rulers of Sparx… And Natalya then and there, had the same determination and strength as her parents, “What’s your plan, then?”

Her plan… That was one where she didn’t know how to answer. Natalya broke off the eye contact for a moment to think, wondering how they could find Alice. Their main objective wasn’t to interact with these terrorists per say, but to make sure Alice was safe and alive. If they could locate the terrorists, that’d be perfect.

But she had no idea where to start.

For Alice though, she did have an idea.

Natalya looked up at the King for a moment once she had come to a decision. Alfred looked down at Natalya, clearly shocked at what she was doing. She was very strong-willed… But also, knew she was crazy for trying to defy the King and Queen of Eraqion. A Princess would _never_ do such a thing…

…But then there was Natalya, a Princess who had no idea what she was doing.

And Alfred admired that a lot.

“I know a spell that only works with the dragon flame and heart of ice that teleports people to me,” Natalya answered briefly, which indeed had the King’s eyes widen at the mentioning of the two most powerful elements of the magic dimension. And so, she continued her pitch, which at that point, had fully suppressed the expectations Arthur had,

_“…and all I need is that ransom note to find her.”_

* * *

Going out for tea was one thing that Mei found herself enjoying a lot. Especially when it was with her father. These were the little things they used to do together when growing up. She was the only daughter out of many sons for Yao and the oldest. This meant that she was the one who had a whole family to look after since her mother had passed away years ago.

After Mei had left for Lenfia, back home, it was Yao taking care of her siblings. It was tough, seeing that Mei did help around with playing and keeping them distracted from time to time, but he managed. Yao wanted her to go to Lenfia upon her getting accepted into the university since her dream was to become a guardian fairy…

…Right?

At least, this was what he had been told by her many times before and during her studies at Lenfia. After having a very interesting conversation though with the Headmistress about Mei and her grades, he was appalled to learn that she was only in the high-average range for training to become a fairy.

The Headmistress said she was a lovely girl. Very unique with her powers in her own way. But if she wanted to become a future guardian fairy, she needed to learn how to focus more offense in battle than staying on the defense. Guardian fairies worked in teams most of the time, but there would be situations where she would have to fight and fend for her own.

There were specific levels at Lenfia when it came to a fairy’s training. The lowest was the expected below average, with low-average being next, then average, high-average, and advanced. The Headmistress reassured Yao that right now she was in a master’s class for connecting with one’s self, which was crucial in her training, so she’d be able to get herself into advanced placement.

Yao knew she was trying. Yet, the second the Headmistress had mentioned that Mei would be performing at UHB in their opening ceremony, that was when he found himself suspicious.

She always prioritized music over her studies.

That was how Mei had always been throughout her years of schooling. She would do her assignments, then disappear for hours outside singing or playing with different instruments. It was why she was born to being the fairy of all music. The issue for Yao was that despite her training to become a guardian fairy, he knew her.

And he knew her dream since she was a child to go and perform throughout the magic dimension. Not as any performer, but a singer. An idol. To go in front of a stage and dance, singing her heart out to an audience to make that connection.

In the midst of their lunch at the small shop they had gone to, Mei had been distracted chatting away with Yao, explaining everything that had happened since her arrival at Lenfia. In her hand, she held onto a boba tea; taking a few sips out of it from time to time, “And this master class, wow, it’s insane! The Professor actually did this exam, where we had to fight against this dark tower… Which at first we thought was from an evil source, but the more we attacked it, the more the Professor got to analyze our powers—“

“ _Mei.”_

The girl stopped in the middle of her explanation. She looked at her father with her head tilted to the side, wondering if she had said something wrong, “What is it?”

“The Headmistress told me why you’re performing in that show tonight,” Yao went straight to the point. There was no need to lie or try to be gentle with her. She was a growing, young woman. If she was going to become a guardian fairy, then the harsh reality would come to her at some point, “I thought we both agreed that when you attended Lenfia, you weren’t going to be doing any performing. You are to study to become a guardian fairy upon graduation… What are you planning?”

Her eyes widened when this was said aloud. To her dismay, Mei was shocked. She thought that her father was there to support her and go to the fall festival together. Maybe she forgot to bring up the part about performing, but she didn’t think it’d be a big deal, “What do you mean? That is the plan,” She responded, being truthful in this, “But it’s not bad to have hobbies, right? I got the opportunity, and plus,” she leaned over, “This could be my big break. There are a lot of artists coming to this festival all throughout the magic dimension, maybe I can try to get them to sign me on a record deal—“

 _“Xiao Mei,”_ Yao’s eyes were narrowed at the girl. His hands were in fists while he glared at her, resulting in her to go silent immediately, “I let you come to Lenfia because we agreed you would learn to apply your magic and knowledge for a profession - to become a guardian fairy - _not_ wasting your time with this idol thing again. You and I know how dangerous it is to even consider a career such as that—“

“And what’s wrong with it?” Mei frowned and crossed her arms. No, she wasn’t going to allow her father to insult her interests. She was the fairy of music — and he was implying her playing with music was wrong? “You live your dream as a teacher while also working hard to take care of our family. I’m working hard to become a guardian fairy while trying to pursue my dream. What’s wrong with that!?”

It was a valid point. Outside of Magix, he was a teacher and it had been his dream to teach others his knowledge and wisdom to contribute to the positivities of the magic dimension. The fact that his own child was using his own personal life against him, well, it frustrated Yao a tad, “We’re not talking about _my_ life, Mei,” He corrected her, “We’re talking about _your_ life.”

“Okay, look,” Mei stood up from her seat; the drink in her hand completely ignored at this point while she stared down at the other, “I understand if you want me to focus on school, and I am! There’s nothing wrong with having interests.” She paused and leaned herself forward, speaking in a whisper… Something was beginning to make sense about this conversation, “…are you worried I’m going to become like… mama?”

Yao’s eyes widened the second this was said aloud. The man had stood up from his seat and slammed his fist against the table; an angered look brought to his expression, which had Mei back off just a bit.

So she was right.

It was about her mother.

“I don’t want to hear another word about your mother, Mei,” Yao had waved a slow finger at her; his expression dark, “Maybe someday you’ll understand. If you perform in that damn concert…” He turned himself around. With a small breath, he calmed himself for a moment seeing that he didn’t want to start a scene, “…I’ll withdraw you from Lenfia and you’ll start training to become a guardian fairy under me. No more of this, fooling around, trying to become a singer and idol, bull. This discussion is over.”

The second this was said, the man had reached for his wallet and placed down what looked like a few dollar bills. Since they were out to lunch at this shop, he at least paid for her and his meals before turning around and walking off. He was done with the conversation, leaving the girl standing in place with confusion formed all over her expression.

What… What just happened?! Everything was so calm when traveling into Magix with him. He had asked her exciting questions, but then all of a sudden the second they sit down and have a meal together, he brings up the fact that he found out that she would be performing?

Perhaps she should have mentioned something… Everyone at Lenfia knew she was performing. The fact that the Headmistress had been the one to confirm it too to him was just proof that she had… Well, lied to him. She had told everyone her father was coming to Magix to visit and support her in the show.

When the reality was, he had no idea. She had lied to him asking if he wanted to come with her to the fall festival so they could spend time together. He agreed, but the second he got to Lenfia’s campus, he learned the truth of why she really invited him.

And that was because she wanted his support. Having some family there to support her when she was performing in front of such a large audience of people… It would be very nice to have. Yet, it seemed that her father hadn’t realized why she had to lie in the first place.

Tears began to well up in Mei’s eyes upon seeing the other walk away. Was he leaving back home? She had no idea, but all she had done was slip the money he had placed onto the table with the check before turning herself around and walking out of the outdoor seating of the shop. There was no point to be in Magix if she had nothing to do…

…Well, she did have something to do, but her father had laid it out fair and square. If she performed in that concert, he would personally make sure she’d never been able to go back to Lenfia again. And she was doing very well too. Sure, she wasn’t at the top of her class, but she was learning and becoming more powerful each time she sat through one of her Professor’s classes.

Questions and a variety of thoughts ran through Mei’s hand as she made that walk to the bus stop. It was just about 4 in the afternoon… The concert wouldn’t be later, but technically, she had to go back to Lenfia to get herself ready. She felt terrible. Part of her wanted to call her father and apologize for not telling him the truth, but she figured that under these tense circumstances - maybe, for now, it would be best to wait it out.

The bus arrived right on schedule when she sat at the bench of the bus stop. Mei stood up at its arrival; pulling out her Lenfia ID which served as her bus pass, before climbing on and taking a seat in the back where she could at least have some privacy to herself. More and more tears streamed down her face the majority of that bus ride, which she had wiped away quickly so no one would be able to notice and ask.

All she wanted was to be left alone.

And left alone was exactly her plan that she had in mind when she had arrived to Lenfia’s campus about ten minutes later. There was no going back to the auditorium or seeing anyone… All it was had been going back to her suite, where she planned in lay in bed, maybe cry a bit, and get out her pent frustrations from the entire situation.

If she cried it out, she knew she’d feel much better about the entire problem. Then she’d be calmer when approaching her father and be able to give him a proper and better conversation.

The issue was that the second Mei had walked into the suite with her tear-stricken face, she had forgotten that someone had stayed behind in the suite to finish homework for later that evening.

And that had been Monika, who seemed to have been sitting at the kitchen with a laptop in front of her. She had been wearing a pair of glasses, all while her bonded Pixie, Lara, was writing down things onto a piece of paper.

Monika had been working on some sort of personal project. Everyone had known in the suite that she was the one who usually worked on things for weeks in order to research and find the answers to… And well, something about this project was really important to her. At one point, it was asked what she was especially researching, and Monika was honest and mentioned the history of paladins. Everyone, including her, had told her that she should go talk to Professor Ayron for information.

After all, he was a Paladin.

The thing was, Monika seemed hesitant and reserved to go and talk with Ayron. This could have possibly been because talking to a Professor was intimidating for a student, which Mei personally wouldn’t blame her if that was the case. Still, she did have to admit that since Monika began this project, she acted more reserved towards Ayron in their classes.

Whatever the research had been, hopefully, she would be finished by the end of the fall semester. Her projects were usually week-long and tedious - but usually are amazing by the end.

Mei slowly closed the door. The rest of the Pixies were probably at UHB at this point, so it was just the both of them. Her shoes were removed as quietly as she could, all until she began tip-toeing through the living room to get to her suite. It was weird having to sneak through her own living space to get to her room… But the last thing she needed was for Monika or Lara to see that she was upset.

And the sneaking mission has deemed a success the second she got to her door. With a small sigh, Mei had used her personal keys to open the door, before once again stepping inside and closing it shut quietly.

_“Oh, you’re back!”_

The new voice filled her ears, which had Mei release what sounded like a feared gasp. Upon turning to look inside her room, she noticed who the mysterious voice had been.

On the top of her bed, what looked to be a small notebook and some crayons were set out. Ella, who had been her bonded Pixie, had stopped what she had been drawing and flew up towards Mei’s face. Her smile was bright and full of love the second she made eye contact with her bonded fairy, “I’m so happy you’re here, Mei! I made a drawing for you, would you like to see?”

Mei was speechless. She had thought all of the Pixies had gone out to UHB… Why was Ella still there?

“Y-Yeah, I’d love to,” Mei cleared her throat. She couldn’t give any hints or signs that she was crying. No, that would only make Ella worry. So far she seemed to be fine, seeing that Ella’s smile only grew bigger when the fairy agreed. The pixie at this point had flown back to the bed where she had picked up a piece of paper, which allowed for Mei to ask, “What are you doing here? I thought you’d go with the rest of your friends to UHB.”

Ella giggled and gave a small shrug. The picture from the notebook was brought over to Mei, were on it, Mei was greeted to a drawing of what looked to be Ella and her together… She smiled at this. Even if she was sad and not in the happiest mindset, it still meant a lot that she got the chance to see this.

“I dunno! I wanted to go with you,” Ella admitted, her expression beaming of happiness. However, that was when she noticed something. Mei seemed… More reserved than her usual outgoing self. Then there was the part where her eyes were a bit red… And face was a bit flushed, “…Mei?” She tilted her head, “Are you okay?”

That was the one question Mei didn’t want to hear from the Pixie. After looking over the drawing, she looked at Ella and gave a brief nod, “Y-Yeah, I-I think so,” She sniffed and rubbed her eyes once more. The drawing was placed down onto her nightstand as she sat down on the edge of her bed, looking at the Pixie, “I’ll be okay. Don’t worry about it—“

“Nope!” Ella flew straight to Mei’s lap. Her impression was that if she sat there in place, Mei wouldn’t move at all. The Pixie looked at the other with a pouting expression than the famous smile, which broke Mei’s heart on the spot if she were to be completely honest, “As your bonded pixie, it’s my duty to make sure you’re always happy! You can talk to me, Mei. Are you unwell? Did someone hurt your feelings?”

Did someone hurt her feelings… Well, it was close enough to it. Mei looked down at the Pixie, who looked determined to figure out what the issue was. All she could do was find herself lay down on her bed; the tears beginning to well up in her eyes again. Ella noticed this immediately and flew off; grabbing a box of tissues from her desk and placing it on the bed before the other spoke, “I-I… no, I’m sorry…” She sniffed, “I just… got into a bit of an argument with my f-father… He…doesn’t want me to perform tonight.”

“W-What?!” Ella gasped when this was said aloud. She flew up to Mei; sitting on her chest so she could at least look at her while the other talked, “It’s okay, sweetie! You can tell me. In my experience, I know fathers care a lot about their children. Maybe he’s worried about something and wants to keep you safe?”

Hearing those words out loud did bring a bit of hope to Mei. But the bigger issue was that Mei didn’t know if that was the case. She felt as though that it was much more than that… Much more than just her becoming a guardian fairy but also having this dream of performing.

She reached for a tissue and blew into it. Ella was patient with her; even rubbing her arm reassuring and comforting to give the fairy time to speak, “…Well, I thought that was the case… until I bought up my mom… who passed away about twelve years ago.”

These words had Ella’s expression soften just a bit. The mentioning of losing a parent was one that shocked her since this was something Mei hadn’t told her at all. She didn’t know a lot about Mei’s family other than that she had a lot of siblings, but she stayed close while hugging the other, “…what was your mama like, Mei?”

That question had Mei’s look at the pixie. She could talk about her mother all day if she could… Maybe if she talked about it, she would feel a bit better? Mei sighed and looked at Ella, “My mom… was amazing. She was a guardian fairy who didn’t serve the magic dimension but served the town I grew up in. Not only that… But she was an incredibly talented musician too.”

All of it began to make sense in Ella’s mind… If her mother was a guardian fairy and a musician, then that meant Mei must’ve inherited something through the power of music. Her mother could’ve been a fairy of any element - but if she had a passion for music, it could be part of the reason why Mei was the fairy of all music.

“My mom started as a singer outside of being a fairy,” Mei began with the story, now closing her eyes while trying to visualize what that would be like, “One day, she had the opportunity to visit a school for unfortunate magical beings to teach them music… And that’s when my dad met her. He wasn’t a musician, but he loved to help others out, and she loved to help others too… So, he asked her if by any chance she’d be interested in forming a class together to teach people about music connecting with the magic in our hearts… I think you can see where this is going with me now years later,”

That was enough of a confirmation Ella needed. She nodded in understanding and continued to listen closely to the fairy all while snuggling her.

“Well… That one idea lead to this amazing program to form in my town, where all magical beings would have the chance to learn how it’s possible to enhance their magic with music. Sooner or later, well, they fell in love. Easy as that,” Mei looked at Ella with a small smile; reminiscing at just the thought of her mother by talking about it, “That’s when I came into the picture… Fate decided that I would be the fairy of all music, which with me being a product of their love, it only made sense their influence of music in magic would inherit through me. And then, my younger brother was born… And my other brother, and my other brother… you get the picture. It was just us… My parents, me and my siblings… And you know, the both of them kept teaching the benefits of music in magic for many years… Until twelve years ago, and I was six....”

Ella hesitated now. She looked at Mei and reached over; gently rubbing her arm in reassurance, “You don’t have to tell me what happened, Mei…” She whispered, not wanting to pressure the other.

Alas, Mei was in her own world at this point. She sighed and looked toward the ceiling of her bedroom, continuing to ramble off in the story to her bonded Pixie, “…my mom suddenly fell ill. I don’t remember the exact details of it, but it had to do with a battle she had dealt with as a guardian fairy. She was injured, but there were no signs of it until the symptoms hit hard and unexpected. A lot of doctors worked to take care of her, the best of the best in the magic dimension. They said it was from a killing spell from an enemy, and they tried to revert it… But medicine can only do so well to a certain extent… and… well… her last day came. It was… Such a… shitty day. But all I remember was my father disappearing for a really long time… And I was only twelve at the time, watching all of my younger siblings until he got back,” She paused and opened her eyes now, “Turns out, he had taken all of his lectures, his teachings, everything he had done for years with my mom… and lit it all on fire.”

“Oh Mei…” Ella flew up to her face to look at the other; now resting herself on top of the girl’s head. She gently ran her small hands across Mei’s forehead in comfort, using a small soothing spell to have her relax. Which indeed, did help a lot, “It sounds like your father couldn’t bear the thought of being around music, hm?”

A nod came from Mei at that point. Thinking about the story and hearing it from someone else’s mouth than her own… It began to make a lot of sense, “Since I was four, I’ve always had this dream of performing and becoming an idol. At the beginning, when my mother was here, both my parents were in support of it… But now, my father doesn’t want anything to do with it…” She looked at Ella, “He wants me to focus training my powers so I don’t get trapped in a killing spell like my mother. If I can grow to become a powerful guardian fairy, I’ll be able to keep everyone safe… And that is the plan, it’s just… Why can’t I do both? Being a fairy makes me happy, and music makes me happy as well… What’s wrong with it?”

That was a question even Ella couldn’t figure out the answer to. There was nothing wrong about having dreams and interests. Instead of putting a child down, she believed what Mei’s father should be doing the opposite. Supporting her and going to her shows, but he didn’t want her happiness? What kind of parent was that? “Nothing’s wrong with it, Mei,” She responded truthfully, “I think… I think your papa still is in a dark place in his heart… But, I think if he sees just how amazing and talented you are tonight at the concert, maybe you can use the music like he and your mother taught to bring the light to his heart.”

“There’s an issue with that,” Mei slowly sat up from her spot on the bed and reached out to hold Ella in her arms. The pixie sat in the palm of her hands now while looking up at the fairy, “He said if I perform tonight, he’ll withdraw me from Lenfia… and I don’t want that. At all. But I need to perform… I just, can’t bail on it.”

“So?” Ella smiled and jumped into the air; reaching over to place a hand on Mei’s cheek, “Just because someone tries to push you down, doesn’t mean it should stop you from accomplishing your dreams… and I think this is the golden opportunity to show your father that it is possible to be a powerful fairy and talented musician.”

“…How am I supposed to do that?” Mei muttered and looked down. She was lost again… That lingering thought of being taken out of Lenfia haunted her. She didn’t want to leave at all… But how could she get away with such a thing?

“Do you think you’re doing this alone, Mei?” Ella giggled. When this was said, Mei’s eyes widened in confusion. No, she wasn’t performing nor doing this concert alone… “You have an entire support team to back you up. Not just me, but all your friends and the Pixies. Don’t let this back you down. And if he threatens you to take you out of Lenfia, that’s when your support group is going to intervene…

… _because_ _tonight, he’s going to see why you’re going to become an amazing idol in the whole magic dimension.”_

* * *

_“Spinning, spinning, stirring it around! Rolling, rolling, our prideful flavor! Service service, it's prize time! Hospitality put it in your heart! With us, dazzle yourself in a wonderful daydream affection is increasing, kindly patting we'll work with our hearts!”_

The singing came from the small Pixie while flying through the woods of the magic dimension. Amare had been in her own little world whenever she was by herself. Especially with traveling, it was much longer for someone her size compared to the average human-looking magical being. To pass the time, she sang to herself with the assumption that no one could hear her.

For the three witches though, hearing the loud singing from the happy Pixie was similar to being shot in the ears by a gun.

Aviana and Nebula had kept their distance away from the pixie, while Gelinda had continued on forward. From time to time, the witches found themselves hidden in trees while Amare passed them, singing her heart away to the medley she sang in order to keep herself entertained until arriving at her main destination.

The witches truthfully had no idea where they were going. They thought they knew where they were, seeing that they had explored the woods of Magix multiple times for their coven meeting as witches…

…That was until Amare proved them wrong.

At one point, the Pixie had silenced with her singing and had been flying in front of what looked to be thin air. There was nothing in front of her. Just a pair of trees and flowers growing from in between them. That was until all of their attentions were caught when the tiny creature opened her mouth and spoke.

_“Apex axamouves!”_

It was a charm. Not just any charm, but a charm that soon allowed what looked to be a portal to appear in front of the witches. It all begun to make sense, seeing that it was rumored the village for all pixies was hidden in the woods of Lenfia… But no one knew where. With the events of what happened at UHB and the Tower of the Dead, it wasn’t surprising that any pixies that remained in the village had taken the precaution to hide it behind an invisible portal.

Amare flew directly into the portal with no hesitation once it had been open. It seemed to have stayed open for a few seconds, which had Gelinda be the one to fly ahead, “You two be on the lookout. I’ll bring the Codex back,”

“Augh, why do we have to stay back?” Nebula rolled her eyes in annoyance, “I want to squash some Pixies, especially annoying ones who sing like squeaking birds,”

“Yes, but she has a point,” Aviana reached over and grabbed the other’s shoulder, pulling her back from following, “We have a different objective. It’s much easier that one person goes than three to sneak and steal the codex. Last thing we want is a bunch of insect pixies doing something stupid like ganging up on us with magic. Who knows how many pixies live in that damn village?”

It was a valid point. More of the reason why Gelinda had gone ahead at that point without even taking the consult from Aviana. The portal behind her disappeared within seconds after entering it with Amare, where she once again, hid at a nearby tree so she wouldn’t be spotted out.

It was just her and Amare. No one else… At least, that was what she assumed to be the case.

Upon stepping out of the tree when seeing that Amare was a good distance away, Gelinda was greeted to the sight of a lot of little trees growing from the ground. But these weren’t just any trees - they were houses! Little, miniature houses dedicated to the pixies… Then there had been a small fountain in the middle of it, then shops making up the town on the ground…

…This was the pixie for all villages.

Her suspicions were confirmed even more seeing that Amare was now not the only one flying around when landing in the village. Twenty — no, at least fifty different pixies seemed to be occupied in their own little worlds. Some pixies had been doing tasks such as cleaning up around the village, others were playing with friends, or even feeding squirrels or bugs that were in the surrounding area.

Amare on the other hand went directly to what looked to be a shop where a few pixies were sitting outside of, “Hey guys, I’m back!”

“Amare!” A pixie who was seated in a chair with a few cookies on a plate. She motioned for the other to sit down with her, which Amare had happily done so, “You’re just in time for afternoon tea!”

“Easy cake…” Gelinda smirked to herself while keeping a distance away from the village. With her compared in size to those pixies, they were bugs. She was practically a giant to them, which was why she didn’t want to risk getting spot right away. The witch hid once more behind a larger tree, that way she could keep her body hidden, all while still having a view of what was going on.

Where was she supposed to start first with finding the codex?

“I appreciate the afternoon tea,” Amare smiled at the other while standing there. In her hand, she held onto an envelope, which hinted to the other pixies why she was really there, “But I’m sorry, I can’t stay. I have a letter from Headmistress Radella and the Ministry of Magix. Something bad’s happened at the Tower of the Dead, so I need to inform the leader here immediately. We could be in trouble.”

The pixie tilted her head innocently while nibbling on a cookie. The thing was that pixies tend to stay away from trouble, so the mentioning of something bad was practically rare for all of them, “Who’s in trouble?”

_“You all are.”_

The new voice was one that no one in the surrounding area of the little shop recognized. Even Amare, who was once talking and explaining herself with the letter, found herself pause when she was about to answer the question that was being asked. Her head slowly turned around at the sound of the voice, which had her eyes widen in the realization of the intruder that had been in the village.

Not only did she release what sounded to be a scream, but the rest of the Pixies did as followed. Their screams were picked up by surrounding Pixies, who were now looking over to be greeted to a large shadow lurking over them.

Gelinda felt a large smirk form on her lips as she slowly flew in the air. She could easily stomp on them for all she cared, but unfortunately, that would be for another time. Unless they refused to hand her the Codex - well, then that could be an option to getting it.

“Now, we’re either going to make this easy, or hard for all of you,” Gelinda’s voice had filled the area, resulting in more panicked shrieked and gasps to fill the area. This didn’t phase her, but she lowered herself to the ground now where she could stand, “ _Where_ is the Codex? And don’t lie and say that it’s not here, because I _have_ confirmation that it is.”

No pixie had said anything. All of them at that point were absolutely silent. Even Amare, who had been trembling and shaking with fear in her eyes, had no idea what a codex was! Let alone, she didn’t even know that was a thing that existed. It was said that the witches had broken into the Tower of the Dead and UHB to steal something… But it was never announced what exactly they stole.

Now, Gelinda was there to steal again? What exactly were they stealing?

The message of there being an intruder did spread amongst the Pixies very quickly. Even for the leader, who had been nowhere to be spotted other than her personal home, had received the message. She had been originally working on paperwork to send to the Ministry of Magix as a status report of how things were in the village - that was until the sounds of screams and shrieks could be heard.

Then came the message that a witch had gotten through the portal.

Within seconds of Gelinda making her demand, a bright light had formed in front of her. The light was small; not enough to phase her, but enough for her to get a visualization of what seemed to be an older looking Pixie flying in front of her. Her expression was angered and serious, almost as if she were disgusted at the fact that a witch had broken in. Her hair was pulled back into a bun while she wore a beautiful gown. Glitter covered her cheeks as she wore beautiful jewels to indicate that she was of higher authority in the village.

“I demand you leave our village immediately, witch!” The Pixie spoke and flew up directly to Gelinda; not even hesitating to defend her fellow pixies, “Now!”

“And I demand you to tell me where your Codex is!” Gelinda had snapped and held her hands out at the village. Within seconds of saying this, she had snapped her fingers were all it took a few seconds for what looked like shadows began to surround the shops and buildings of the village. More panicked shrieks and screams could be heard as the shadows rose, resulting in pixies to now fly into the air to avoid getting near to it, “Or else I’ll fill this place entirely of darkness to the point where you will all perish under the Dark Lord’s hands. Tell me where it is!”

“No!” The leader held her hands up into the air where a bright light had formed. The light had grown into a bigger orb within seconds; even bigger than her, before being launched right at Gelinda’s direction, “Leave!”

Seeing the magical sphere come at her direction had Gelinda pause. While she would have naturally taken a hit, the thing was that, since receiving the enhancements of her powers from Lord Demande, positive magic was easy for her to defeat. Especially for a little pixie. The witch held her hand out; grabbing the orb and squeezing it into dust within moments of it making contact with the palm of her hand, “Oh, please.” She rolled her eyes, “If you want to play that way, I’ll freeze your pixies one by one and sacrifice them to the Dark Lord.”

She wasn’t joking when she said this. All it took was one footstep forward for the entire ground to form into ice. Shrieks could be heard from the pixies, where some had jumped into the air again to avoid it. However, for those who couldn’t make it to the air quickly with their wings, had soon found themselves trapped in the ice sheet on the ground. The ice had quickly grown and formed around their bodies, freezing them on the spot.

The leader, who was absolutely horrified and in disbelief, looked at Gelinda, “N-No!”

“Oh yes,” She looked at the leader, glaring at her with a crazed look to her expression, “One snap of my fingers, and all of these pixies are dead. Shattered into a million pieces… Unless you tell me where King Viktor hid the Codex here.”

“N-No, please!” The leader begged at this point. Panic formed in her eyes now, unsure of what to do in a situation such as that one. Innocent pixies were trapped in that spell, and this witch wasn’t hesitating with killing them if she couldn’t have the Pixies.

Would King Viktor haunt her for the sin she was about to commit? A promise she had made to the King years ago for showing where the Codex was… The magic dimension was in danger, but at that point, she was pushed into a corner.

“…I-I’ll give you the codex, just, stop!” The leader looked at Gelinda, “Please. Please stop.”

That was exactly what Gelinda had wanted. She had lowered her hand; staring at the leader with her brows narrowed at the Pixie to wait for instruction.

The thing was that the codex hadn’t been hidden anywhere in the village. The leader, who had hesitantly reached around her neck, pulled out what looked to be a necklace. At the end of a necklace, a small pendant had been in place. She closed her eyes as she focused her magical energy into it; watching it grow into size and shine throughout the village to the pixies who hadn’t been trapped.

The power had radiated such positive, powerful energy, that pixies who weren’t trapped found themselves feeling strength.

The codex floated right in front of the leader while she looked at Gelinda. Seeing that she had no choice in this situation, she motioned her hand for the Codex to go directly to the witch, who had grasped onto it immediately.

“Just go, please…” The leader turned her head away; absolutely ashamed for what she had done. She had broken a promise, unable to fight against a witch like Gelinda… If she hadn’t cast that threatening spell on the pixies, perhaps, she’d be able to stop the witch. But she was in a position of either letting innocent pixies die or, she could give the codex to Gelinda and immediately send an emergency alert to Headmistress Radella.

The last person to be carrying the final piece of the codex, but the witch didn’t know this, did she?

“You made the right choice, Pixie,” A large smirk formed on Gelinda’s lips the second the Codex had come flying to her direction. Within seconds of her grasping onto the Codex, there was no time to waste. She looked at the leader and spoke again, “Adieu,” before snapping her fingers where a dark shadow had formed around her body.

In seconds, she vanished, leaving the leader to collapse to the icy ground with tears streaming down her cheeks.

The codex was gone.

The witches had the third codex.

Which meant the Dark Lord was a step closer to opening the Realm of Relix.

And the leader of all pixies was to carry this burden for allowing it to happen.

“Everyone!” The Leader looked up from her position and rubbed her eyes, not wanting to show any signs of weakness. She flew up into the air, managing to catch the attention of those who weren’t trapped, while others were tending to the ones who were trapped in the ice to free them, “We are in a state of emergency! Please remain calm until then, I will be reaching out to the former members of the Company of Light for assistance…

_…for now, remain calm!”_

* * *

Leaving the throne room at Eraqion was one of the most nerve-wracking experiences all of them ever had to go through. The intimidation that came from King Arthur was strong; leaving a major impact for not only Natalya and Alfred, but for Gilbert and Tatyana - who didn’t even speak, nonetheless! They had simply stood back in a corner afar from the conversation, yet they still left not feeling good at all.

The most amazing part of it was that Natalya had managed to convince the King that they would rescue Alice. For the first time, Alfred had found himself gain a little respect for Natalya to telling someone like his father off. Sometimes he had his moments of arguments with the man and couldn’t win intimidation fights, but she managed to be proof that it was possible to accomplish such.

The group of four were silent upon exiting the palace. It was agreed that if they were going to find Alice, they would have to find her tonight before the concert. Which meant they had just about three hours to locate her and bring her home, which they had no idea where to start. The first plan was to return to the aircraft, where they could discuss clues and ideas of where to even begin.

All the details they knew was that this act was the cause of a terrorist group wanting money from both Alice’s father and the King of Eraqion. They needed a transaction of a sum amount of money before the end of the day, which naturally, of course, both Kings refused to do so. Until then, the risk of Alice getting killed was only going to increase more and more with every hour wasted.

Once they were a good distance away from the palace, with the security of no one hearing them, Alfred had immediately shot a look at Natalya with his jaw dropped wide open, “ _How.”_

The question caught the girl off guard. She looked at the blonde and tilted her head innocently “How what?”

“How the fuck did you manage to convince someone like King Arthur to let you be part of this mission!?” Gilbert blurted out, getting into more detail of the question that Alfred was asking, “Listen Natalya, that guy is the most stubborn man I have ever met. He wouldn’t listen to his own son, but he listened to _you!?”_

Hearing these words had Natalya frown for a moment. She shrugged, not really wanting to get into detail… But the thing was that hearing such a thing made her look at Gilbert, “…That’s really sad if that’s the case,” She muttered. Something about a father not wanting to support a son just… Aggravated her. 

She loved her father on Earth very much. He took care of her, made sure to help her in need, and made sure she didn’t get into trouble. Yet, he would never try and intimidate her as King Arthur had done with Alfred.

“I’m sorry for getting myself in between this personal mess,” Natalya looked over at Alfred with a frown still plastered on her lips. Her arms were crossed under her chest while the group entered the aircraft, which was closed securely by Gilbert so they could all sit down and discuss, “I just… Fucking hate how he talked to you like that. Clearly, you didn’t want to do the damn mission and used your own words against you. He wants you to rescue the woman who hurt you? What kind of person does that?”

Seeing just how frustrated she was about the whole situation had Alfred stare at her in shock. The fact that she was the one who always said she sucked at giving comfort and expressing care… Well, he was doing it right then and there with him. He paused for a moment, waiting for her to calm down just a bit before doing something that he believed she needed.

And that was wrapping his arms around her, tightly. This time, being the one to pull her into a tight embrace.

The hug was unexpected. For Natalya, she was a ticking time bomb the more she thought about the situation. While one may assume that the hug would be enough to set her off, it didn’t. The feeling of being in Alfred’s arms brought… Comfort and reassurance to the situation. His warmth and scent relaxed her - almost like a drug that would make feel someone calm.

There was something about being in the arms of your lover as well that made it feel even more special. And so, she found herself pressing her face into his chest, “I hate this, I hate this… I fucking knew something was going on here!” She looked up at him; her cheeks burning red. He could tell she was pissed - and it wasn’t an angry-pissed, but more of a sad-pissed off firecracker she was, “The closer we got to Eraqion, the more I could feel this heavy weight in my heart. I feel like something ten times worse is going to come out from this one situation, and I just- hate it!”

His hand soothingly went up and down her back. At times like these, Alfred had learned the best way to handle a ticking-time-bomb Natalya, was to let the woman speak. Let her clear her mind out and speak out her feelings. Which once she did calm down and get everything that she needed to say out of her chest, he looked down at her and used his hand to lift up her chin, “I know you do… Me too, Nat. Really. Alice just… She never apologized for what she did to you, and I could never forgive myself for that whole situation. The fact that I’m supposed to put aside my differences to help her, it’s painful… But my dad was right. I did and am following the hero’s oath.”

“What the fuck is a hero’s oath anyway?” Natalya looked at him; her expression full of frustration and confusion, “He said it multiple times, but I never understood it.”

“…It’s the oath of a hero, as it stands,” Gilbert called out from the pilot’s chair of the aircraft. He had been spinning around; keeping himself entertained all while Tatyana was silent in her seat and kept her distance from the angered Natalya. Alas, Gilbert continued, “ _I will do everything in my power to drive, build, and pursue progress and change. I will set positive examples for others to emulate while instilling good habits in myself…_

 _“…We are to put aside our differences to serve society, our people, our loved ones, and even our enemies in a dire time of need. And that shall be my oath as a hero.”_ Alfred finished the statement that Gilbert had explained with a small sigh of frustration. That was it. Hearing it out loud and saying it since the beginning of his own personal journey at UHB, it was enough to the point where it was memorized deep in his heart, “Guardian fairies have it too, but you guys don’t have to worry about it until your third year… And for us, since we’re graduating in less than a year, we have to recite that at our graduation to get our official certifications.”

Hearing the oath was indeed a powerful statement. Natalya was in disbelief. Tatyana found herself shocked standing there since she found herself impacted by the words. So much meaning in just a few sentences, and the fact that heroes had to abide by it for the rest of their lives.

Gilbert and Alfred were dedicated to it.

“Okay.” Natalya looked up at the blonde while standing still; allowing for him to continue keeping his arms wrapped around her, “I won’t argue with that… And if guardian fairies have something similar too… But we haven’t learned it yet,” She looked at Tatyana with a sigh, “I guess we don’t really have a choice either to help, huh?”

“…Are you sure, Natalya?” Alfred once more reached over and cupped her cheek. This time, getting her to look at him with full eye contact while allowing for his thumb to stroke along the skin of her cheek. Her eyes widened since she didn’t know what to say or do at the moment, “Because if you don’t, I understand… She hurt you really badly, and I don’t want you getting anymore hurt.”

There was a moment where Natalya found herself chuckling at that point. He was really worried about her… And she admired that about him. Leaning forward for a moment, what seemed to be a small kiss take place in between of them, having Gilbert roll his eyes with a small whistle while Tatyana looked away with a small blush. Alfred, who was shocked, stood there, unsure of what to say as the blonde spoke, “Eh, I’m sure. Maybe she’ll back off if she realizes it’s us saving her… plus, I actually have an idea on how we can find her.”

Silence filled the aircraft when this was said aloud. She had an idea? That easy and so soon?

The case was that she did. And it had been all based on that conversation that she had with King Arthur, which was why she interrupted to interrogate for more information. Natalya had everything she needed, which started with the ransom note.

Alfred let her go after a moment, staring at the girl in confusion, “…You do?”

When this was asked, Natalya walked over to the middle of the aircraft where she had approached one of the wall plates to press a button. The chairs that were once in the middle of the craft had suddenly gone inside the ground of the ship, only to be replaced with a table. With the ransom note in hand, which she had kept securely in her bag; Natalya had placed it out on the table for all of them to see.

“Mhm.” She nodded at the other before looking at Tatyana, who was equally as intrigued as thetwo men, “Do you remember that teleportation spell we learned in Keldan’s class? About how we only need fingerprints to teleport a certain person or objects from another person’s place?”

Tatyana’s eyes widened when this was mentioned. Both Alfred and Gilbert shot a look at the other fairy since clearly, they had no idea what Natalya was talking about, “I do, yes.” She responded and approached the ransom note to examine it, “But Natalya, there are a lot of fingerprints on this note. Yours, Alfred’s, the King’s - how can we find the right fingerprints to match with those terrorists?”

“Because that spell only works for a thousand-yard radius,” Natalya responded to the other. She looked down at the note and thought for a moment, “Alfred and I are here, so it won’t detect us. And we’re just outside the palace, so it won’t detect the King either… If the only other fingerprints on it are the terrorists who took her, all we would need to cast the spell is a picture of Alice, and it’d teleport her right to us.”

“Yes, but,” Tatyana interrupted her with a concerned expression to her face, “You’re forgetting the part that it’s a replacement based spell. Which means one of us would have to take her place at the terrorist’s hideout, while Alice would be teleported to us.”

“I’ll go,” Natalya spoke immediately the second this was said, which resulted in Alfred to grab onto her wrist to catch her attention.

“No, Natalya.” His voice was firm and serious when this was said. Natalya’s eyes widened the second she heard this, clearly not believing that Alfred was stopping her when usually it was the other way around with her stopping him. However, Alfred had his reasons before he let go of her, “I’ll go. If something happens to you, especially for the sake of saving Alice, I don’t think I’d ever forgive myself for letting you get hurt—“

“I agree with Alfred,” Gilbert spoke up, resulting in both Natalya and Tatyana to looked over at the other from the pilot’s chair, “Not in terms of getting hurt, but you’re kind of a big deal in this dimension, Natalya. Whether you like it or not, if you get hurt, then that’s us failing the heroes oath, because members of the ministry of Magix _and_ royal family members of the entire magic dimension take a priority.”

“Are you serious?” Natalya looked back and forth at Alfred and Gilbert, unsure of what to say or even do, “This isn’t about me. You said it yourself, Alfred,” She looked at the blonde with a frown to her lips, “Guardian fairies have an oath, and while it doesn’t apply now, I need to take that risk.”

“There’s also the part that you’re forgetting your girlfriend is a powerful fairy, Alfred,” A small giggle came from Tatyana when this was said, resulting in the couple to look over from their spot, “Alice isn’t, because if she was, she would’ve been able to teleport herself back. Natalya has the magical ability to escape the hideout with her powers by using a teleportation spell herself, easily.”

“Natalya, please,” Alfred spoke up once again. The concern was present in his tone of voice. He didn’t want her getting hurt at all, and while he knew she could fight, he had no idea what these terrorists could do. Especially if they figured out that she was the Princess of the magic dimension - that was a bigger deal compared to Alice’s title, “Why do you want to do this?”

“Honestly?” Natalya shrugged, looking down at the note once more. She stared at it; reading the writing which listed out the details of the agreement for payment, as well as the threat to hurt Alice if the deal wasn’t agreed mutually, “I don’t care about Alice at all. She could disappear and I wouldn’t even remember her… but,” She looked over at Alfred and poked her finger at his chest, “ _I_ care about _you_. And I promised your father to his face that I’d help you and make sure you completed this damn mission. I can do this.”

“That settles it, then,” Tatyana looked over at the group, waiting for any objections.

Silence came from both the men. There was no arguing with the fact that Natalya couldn’t do it… She was a fairy and she had powers, so she’d be able to escape the situation with no problem at all.

Tatyana reached into her bag to pull out what looked like a few tubes of elixirs. Originally she had planned on using them for her project on the flower she needed from Eraqion, but it wasn’t urgent that she had to find the flower. She could find the flower later, bring it back to Lenfia, and conduct her lab project there. For now, though, she had placed the bottles onto the table and opened it, motioning for Natalya to hold out her hand, “This spell is going to require everyone to participate in it, including humans.” She looked over at Alfred and Gilbert, “On nights where there’s a full moon, it’s not good for location spells at all. You two need to focus your mind and energy to the spell me and Natalya will cast in order to picture what we want it to accomplish. This elixir will make sure Natalya has connectivity to us so she can teleport back.”

“If everyone focuses their energy into the spell,” Natalya followed-up in agreement, “We’ll be able to balance the spell with the presence of the full moon.”

With her hand slowly held out, Natalya swallowed nervously watching Tatyana open up the bottle and pour a little bit of the contents of it onto the palm of her hand. Both Alfred and Gilbert had watched to see what happened, and to their amazement, they were shocked at what they were seeing.

The small amount of liquid that had been from the elixir was immediately absorbed into Natalya’s hand. It was as if it had never existed in the first place. Not even Natalya felt it being absorbed into her body before she took in a breath, figuring that it’d be best to jump straight into the spell without wasting any more time.

_“…Charmix.”_

With her magical energy in focus, a bright light had formed around her body. Everyone had stepped away for a moment as the enchantment only took a second to reveal that her attire had been completely different. Instead of the outfit, she had once been wearing for the dinner with the royal family and for the concert later that evening, Natalya had been in an entirely new form. A fairy form, with a pair of wings grown out of her back and the familiar tiara on top of her curled, sparkling hair.

She opened her eyes now and looked down at the ransom note. That was all they would need in order for the enchantment to work, which resulted in her reaching over and take Tatyana’s hand. Followed by this, she looked over at Alfred and held out her other hand to him, “Well? What are we waiting for?”

The blonde stared at her in confusion before he shrugged and took her head, “I’m just warning ya Nat, I’ve never done a spell before.”

“There’s a first time for everything,” Tatyana smiled at the other while her other hand had reached over and held onto Gilbert’s.

The four of them stood in a circle around the random note and elixir that was set out by Tatyana. Both Natalya and Tatyana had closed their eyes to focus, all while the men stared in confusion at each other before following with closing their eyes.

Focus their energy into the spell… Alfred and Gilbert had no idea what they were doing, but they did as they were told.

And alas, the enchantment began in a loud unison from Natalya and Tatyana, _“Ad destinationem noster nobis invenire. Ne nos inducas in principis,”_

Alfred choked on his breathing on what he was hearing. Sometimes magical beings using spells were still foreign to him. Even at the fact that while he was used to Natalya conducting spells, hearing her speak in a language for spell-casting was just absolutely shocking to him.

The thing was that with the combination of all of their energies, the spell had been cast.

A bright light formed around specifically Natalya. All it took was a flash of it to have her be teleported away from the scene, leaving Alfred, Tatyana, and Gilbert all by themselves to what was once a silhouette of Natalya standing there with them.

Miles away from where the aircraft had been located had been a grand building hidden deep within the woods of the planet. No one had known of its existence, let alone, could see it due to an invisibility spell isolating itself from the area.

Just as the ransom note had claimed, Alice had been there. The woman, who had an angered expression to her face, had been sitting against a wall with her hands wrapped around in rope. Everything was restrained - from her wrists to her ankles… And all of this was going on was because these people wanted money.

Alice had no idea who the people were that had kidnapped her anyway. Her suspicions had led to the conclusion that it had been some sort of organization that specialized in crimes for money… Was it the mafia? A terrorist group? She had no idea.

The thing was that since being kidnapped from her palace back home, she had been watched by one person. And this one person seemed to be the leader of the entire situation. He was the one who initiated the plan of capturing her and made sure to keep a close eye on it while waiting for the confirmation that funds had been received by not only her father but the King of Eraqion as well.

Silence filled the air while the leader had been occupied in his own work. Alice had already tried screaming and crying for help, but help was nowhere near she was. She struggled at first when her kidnappers had first captured her, but they had knocked her out, allowing for them to tie her up and leave her in the position she had been for the last few hours.

All she wanted was to go home. There was no reason she had to be there.

At one point though, she found herself glaring up at the leader, “Hey,” The blonde spoke; her eyes narrowed while managing to catch the attention of the man who sat in front of her at a table; pausing in his work to look at her, “If you’re so eager for a transaction, just take my crown. It’s equally as worth as what you want.”

The man sat there for a moment, wondering why she continued to be so daring when already she had learned the hard lesson a few times for speaking up to him. The leader laughed at this for a moment and lowered the quill he had been using to write with, “So daring. So bold, especially for a tiny princess like you… I could squash you easily,” He paused, “A crown such as yours is no value to me. It’s the transaction between two Kings that I desire, so shut your tiny fucking mouth and zip it.”

The harsh tone of voice had Alice stumble back for a moment in shock. That was the usual response she got from the leader anytime she spoke up. Being disciplined for defending herself or even offering another exchange for payment to let her go?

The thing was that the man continued despite telling her to go silent, “I want nothing to do with you. After your father and the King of Eraqion make the transaction, you could go get yourself killed for all I care—“

In the midst of his sentence, however, a bright light had flashed in front of Alice. It had been quick - only a few seconds, to reveal instead of the blonde being tied up in a gown…

…It was a fairy!

Not just any fairy, but one that the man found himself shrieking too in horror upon realization of who it was.

_“So this is what it looks like to be in a terrorist hideout.”_

“P-Princess Natasha!?” The man blurted out and stood up from his seat. Almost immediately, the leader had opened up a small opening on the table to reveal a red button. He pressed the button quickly to get back-up, since if this really was the Princess and it wasn’t an illusion, there was no joking around, “What is this-!?”

“Sorry,” Natalya looked at the rope that was tied around her ankles and wrists. They had her tied up? Really? She chucked at the sight of it and focused her energy into it; closing her eyes as a small flame had resulted in the rope to burn off around her wrists and ankles. She stood up, looking at the leader before looking around for an exit, “Can’t stand for long, I have to go!”

The second she had said this, the door of the room had slammed right open. She turned around in response to hearing the noise, only to be greeted by what looked like almost twenty guards all crowded into one group, In their hands, they held weapons such as swords and spears, which had her jokingly gasp at the sight.

“Aww,” Natalya brushed her hair behind her shoulder, “I’ve never had a surprise party like this before.”

The thing was, the more the girl taunted and had her fun, the more the leader found himself getting angered at the sight of it, “What are you men waiting for!? Get her!”

One by one, the guards began charging right in Natalya’s direction. That was the point where she had located a window. Once she was able to get outside, she would be able to use a transportation spell to get back to the aircraft. She noticed a window from behind where the leader was standing before she had jumped into the air to fly directly to it. Her hand held out in the direction of the window where what looked like a ball of ice had formed in the palm of her hand before being launched at the glass of the window, “ _Ice globe!”_

Glass went flying in multiple directions the second the window had been shattered open. The thing was that while Natalya flew out of it to escape, she hadn’t expected for guards to be underneath her. Ten times worse than the ones in the room, seeing that now they seemed to have been preparing to launch arrows in her direction.

Now she was in trouble.

Back at the aircraft, the spell was quick. No issue whatsoever, seeing that the second that the light silhouette that had once been Natalya, had flashed to reveal another figure. In this case, being another blonde with a tiara on her head and a beautiful gown on her body.

“What the-!?” Alice had blurted out the second the spell had happened, looking around upon realizing that her wrists nor ankles were restrained, “Where am I—!?”

“Wow, it actually worked,” Gilbert felt his jaw drop the second he had seen Alice standing where Natalya was.

Tatyana at that point had quickly reached for the ransom note and elixir; placing it into her bag for safekeeping to return to the King later. For now, she looked at Alice, who looked horrified, “Hello, Princess,” She spoke out in a soothing tone, “You’re in an aircraft owned by the University of Heroics and Bravery. Are you okay?”

“University of Heroics and Bravery!?” Alice stared at the girl with confusion brought to her expression. The name she clearly knew, but what she knew more was the sight of Gilbert standing there. If Gilbert was there… She slowly turned her head around to be greeted to the sight of Alfred standing there with what looked like a few weapons. A sword that he had tossed over to Gilbert, who easily caught it, while he held onto a sword of his own, “Alfred-!?”

“…Hi Alice,” Alfred sighed for a moment and approached the exit of the aircraft with Gilbert, “Stay here with Tatyana. She’ll take care of you, feel free to make yourself comfy here because we’ve got work to do.”

“Work to do!?” Alice blurted out in frustration and anger. First, she had been kidnapped by some weird group of men, and now she had been teleported to seeing Alfred? “What the hell is going on, Alfred?!”

She naturally was never opposed to seeing Alfred, but she hadn’t seen him in months! Ever since the incidents at UHB, he had ignored all of her attempts to get in contact with her. He fully cut her off in favor of Natalya…

…Which lead to her wondering - where was she?

That question was quickly answered with the sound of a loud explosion being heard from outside. The explosion is powerful enough to shake the aircraft they were in, which was Alfred and Gilbert’s cue.

“Come on,” Alfred pressed the button of the doors to open it before rushing out with Gilbert.

The thing was that no one had known what happened with Natalya. She said she would teleport herself back to the aircraft once switching places with Alice, but the thing was that she didn’t arrive at all.

That was all based solely at the fact that there were arrows being launched in her direction.

Natalya focused ahead as she flew as fast as she could away from the guards that had been launching their attacks at them. First were the arrows, which she had dodged as best as she could. There had been a point that she had held her hands out; forming what looked to be a protective barrier so the arrows wouldn’t hit her. The more she focused on dodging them, the longer it would take for her to get back to the aircraft.

The thing was that as she did the spell, that was one moment where she found herself remembering back to one of Glynda’s training sessions when she had served as a sub for that one class.

_When you’re being attacked, dodge. Don’t attack back unless you have the opportunity._

Remembering that at the worst timing was payment for what came next. An arrow, barely inches away from hitting her, had gone through the shield as she cast the spell. The thing was that as she held her arms out, the blades of the arrows had nicked her. They hadn’t been bad nicks, but enough to slice a bit of skin around her shoulder and arms, which resulted in Natalya to let out a sharp gasp of pain while she flew in the orb.

The remainder of the arrows bounced off the orb while she continued to fly ahead. This gave her the time to examine the damage. It was just a few cuts - nothing too extreme… But the feeling of having what felt like multiple paper cuts on her shoulders and arms was _not_ how she planned on going for that evening.

The more she flew on ahead, the more she could see the lights of the palace. It meant that the hide-out wasn’t far away from the palace… That was a good thing since now she’d be able to locate the hideout and inform the Eraqion guards, but also very concerning seeing that technically the royal family lived miles away from a terrorist group.

The light of the orb that had come north from where the aircraft had been sitting was enough to catch the attention of Gilbert and Alfred as they stepped out. There had been no guards outside from the Eraqion palace seeing that there had been a priority to protect the King and Queen, giving them the chance for an entire playing field for potential battle in front of the main courtyard.

That was when the two men saw it. Natalya had been flying in practically a frenzy in the bright protection orb, all while loud screams and what looked like arrows were flying right at her direction.

“What did she do…” Gilbert couldn’t help but gasp while holding his shield out, waiting for the girl to catch up to them.

“I have no idea man,” Alfred laughed to himself as he looked over at Gilbert; what looked to be a proud smirk on his face, “But I’ll tell ya, I’m one really fucking proud boyfriend, that’s for sure.”

Natalya managed to spot the aircraft now. The lights seemed to have been on, which immediately had her lower herself to the ground so she could approach closer to it. Maybe it was a bad idea that she was leading the guards from the terrorists’ hideout to their location, but it would be a better case of catching them if there was a crowd from the Eraqion palace to stop them.

“Call the guards!!!” Natalya had practically screamed from the orb while lowering herself down to the ground, “I didn’t expect for them to follow, but this is our chance to get them!”

That was a valid point she was making. Quickly, Gilbert had been the one to exchange a nod with Alfred before sprinting to the palace gates. Seeing that he technically was training under the royal guard for many years before having to serve to Alfred, it wasn’t hard for him to alert the guards of the palace that there had been intruders on the palace’s premises.

Natalya lowered herself to the ground after a moment and held onto her knees, panting for a moment since she swore she hadn’t run away from being chased since the time the witches had invaded her home on Earth.

That was enough for Alfred to see it. The cuts and wounds around her arms and shoulders, which had his eyes widen in a panic, “Nat, what did you—“

“I’m fine, I’m fine!” Natalya waved the other off and took in a few deep breaths. She stood her ground and watched as the crowd of guards continued to charge at them. It seemed that they hadn’t realized they were on the palace’s grounds and followed her like bait. While this originally wasn’t their plan, it was a plan that was working in their favor, “I got nicked by a few arrows. I’ll be fine, let’s just focus on stopping these guys, first,”

Alfred stared at her with a bit of annoyance brought to his expression. He said he didn’t want her getting hurt - and the last thing he expected that with agreeing to let her go and switch places with Alice - he hadn’t been expecting for her to get hurt at all, “We’re not finished talking about this, babe,” He began, which only had Natalya roll her eyes.

Guards one by one from Eraqion’s palace had run outside towards where Alfred and Natalya had been standing outside of the aircraft. The men part of the royal guard had immediately noticed the crowd of guards rushing in their direction, resulting in their leader to call out, “ _CHARGE, MEN!”_

These words being said aloud was a moment of realization for the guards that had gone rushing in Natalya’s direction. Seeing that there had been guards twice in the amount of them in battle attire, the guards from the terrorist hideout found themselves stopping their arrow attacks and beginning to turn around in a panic, “ _RETREAT!!!”_

Alfred and Natalya had rushed towards the entrance of the aircraft. This was a battle that they didn’t want any part of, but already it felt like a battle the second the two had stepped inside the aircraft and had been greeted to the sight of Alice sitting down with a bottle of water, trying to calm down, all while Tatyana had been standing there in silence since she didn’t know what to say to the Princess.

The second the couple had stepped inside though, Alice had glared right at their direction. Both Natalya and Alfred had expected for her to start screaming, but instead… She seemed much more calmer as she spoke, “Are you going to answer my damn question now, Alfred? Or is your little girlfriend speaking on your behalf now?”

A question? Natalya rose a brow when this was said. She had no idea what had taken place since the teleportation spell was done, which resulted in her to slowly open up her mouth to speak out in defense…

…However, Alfred stopped her by grabbing her shoulder.

“Nat, don’t,” He looked at her, giving what looked to be a serious expression. He knew her very well, and if he let her, he swore Natalya would beat Alice up right on the spot despite being wounded herself. For once though, Natalya kept still and turned her head away with an annoyed expression on her face, allowing for the other to speak, “Look Alice, the group that captured you is a terrorist group after funding from your father and my father. My father asked for us to locate and rescue you, and well, Natalya was brave enough to take on a risky spell just to rescue you. So now that you’re safe, you should know what to say to someone after they’ve risked their life to save you.”

“Say?” Alice rose a brow and stood up from her spot, pointing right at Natalya who had been standing there, completely unphased, “I don’t have anything to say to that _thing.”_

 _“A thing?”_ Natalya couldn’t help but to turn her head away, trying to hold back from laughing, “That’s a new one.”

“Even if you were asked to rescue me, it’d be your job to anyway,” Alice responded, being clear and direct with the other. Alfred crossed his arms at her since all of her words were going in one ear and out the other, “That’s what you heroes and guardian fairies do. Rescue people of the magic dimension. So, thanks for doing your job.”

“…Technically.” Natalya began and slowly turned her head over to the Princess. Tatyana had let out a small whistle when she heard this, turning around since she definitely didn’t want to get involved with the potential cat-fight that could spark at that moment, “I’m not a guardian fairy… Yet. Which means I could’ve technically left you for dead.” She responded, not even hesitating when she said this. Her expression was dark, cold - even being enough to stare at Natalya with horror in her expression. What made it worse was the creepy smile that Natalya had on her face, “I’d wake up to the news the next morning in celebration that Princess Alice was dead. I’d have a reason to start taking celebratory shots in the morning knowing that the woman who tried to kill me wasn’t here. That’s how I feel and think about you. I don’t care about you, and don’t care about what you have to say…. _But.”_

She paused for a moment and slowly walked over to Alice. Alfred of course had kept his distance close to Natalya, because he knew if he let her, she could easily attack her. Fear had formed in Alice’s eyes the second she saw the girl walk close, which had her slowly back away in pure instinct.

The thing was, that Natalya had more to her point aside from expressing her hatred and dislike toward the other, “…A heroes oath says to p _ut aside our differences to serve society, our people, our loved ones, and even our enemies in dire time of need._ Even with how many times I have to save or help you won’t extinguish the hatred I have in my heart for you… but I also understand the feeling of having a missing child. Your parents were worried… Beyond worried, and I understand the feeling of not having that child near you… it’s what my _mother_ taught me.” She pointed a finger at her, “Be gracious for what you have. You don’t need to thank me, but start making it clear in your mind that we help others out of the goodness and love we have in our hearts.”

After a moment, Natalya had turned herself around to approach what looked to be a medkit area in the aircraft to tend to her wounds. She had nothing more to say. Alfred and Tatyana were absolutely silent… After all, that was the first time Natalya had gotten the chance to tell Alice off after hurting her badly at the events at UHB earlier in the school year.

Alice stared at her in disbelief. It was absolutely shocking to her… She was expecting for Natalya to hurt her or get her revenge. She already had done enough with her by revoking her powers, which for Alice, she had to have an actual guardian fairy from her planet to reverse the spell and give her powers back.

The thing was that she had a better understanding of where Natalya was coming from. She had the hate and hurt in her heart, but she put aside their differences to help her. That’s something Alice never found herself having the chance to experience… Helping others, including an enemy… She’d never be able to help an enemy if she was asked to.

The fact that Alfred was there too… Did Natalya have to convince him to be there and help? She wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case. Alfred had cut full-contact with her since their engagement had been broken. He was angered and hurt at the fact that she hurt someone he loved and wanted no contact with her ever again in the future.

The way he kept his distance, avoided talking with her… She could tell that Alfred had no interest in her whatsoever. But the fact that he was there - he was there because of Natalya. She had to have convinced him. She sighed for a moment, turning her head away before muttering what sounded like a quiet:

_“Thank you, Natalya.”_

The phrase was enough for Natalya to pause while looking through the medkit for a few bandages for her arms and shoulders. Alfred’s eyes widened when hearing the apology since out of the many years he had known Alice - he had never expected to hear her say thank you.

And it was a thank you that Natalya found herself taking to heart too. Despite her hatred towards the girl and emphasizing the fact that she wouldn’t be upset if were killed, she did take the thank you as a token of gratitude.

The guards that had rushed from Eraqion’s palace had managed to capture the guards that had made a welcome to the palace’s courtyard. That was their first mistake since it would be impossible to escape the area of the palace once walking into it.All of the terrorists one by one were brought to the back of the palace where they would be locked-up for treason until they could be seen in front of the King for the decision of their punishments.

For now, though, Alfred, Tatyana, Natalya, and Alice, had made their exit out of the aircraft. Gilbert had already made it back to the group, explaining that the King wanted to see them immediately while Alice would be sent to be checked by the royal family’s personal doctor to see if she was injured or hurt during her time at the hideout. The split was made with the Princess once entering, leaving the four now to be led by a guard to not the throne room per se - but the King’s study on the second floor of the palace.

Walking up to the second floor of the palace was almost similar to walking through a new house that was connected to a larger house. It had been a grand hallway with beautiful red rugs running down it, as portraits of generations of the royal family were hung up. Vases of flowers, as well as for sculptures were set up as well - allowing for both Natalya and Tatyana who didn’t have a lot of experience in Eraqion’s palace to have the chance to properly look at it.

Eventually, the group had arrived to a pair of grand doors, which had been opened to reveal the sight of the King standing there with a cup of tea.

The doors shut behind the group after they had all entered. Naturally of course, Gilbert, Tatyana, and Natalya had bowed in front of the King while Alfred had taken a step toward his father.

The King waited for a moment after the bows and used his hands to signal the three, “You may rise,” He began, now taking note that both Gilbert and Alfred had been in battle attire, all while Natalya had been in her fairy form. Did they get themselves engaged in battle? He figured that was the case for Natalya, upon noticing the blood that slowly dripped down her shoulders and arms in the form of large scars, “I’m very impressed. The fact that you as a group managed to locate not only Alice, but lead terrorist guards to the royal guard in less than two hours is just… astonishing to me.” He paused for a moment and looked over at Natalya, “Gilbert told me you were the one who offered to conduct a spell to rescue Princess Alice. Is this true?”

Natalya’s eyes widened when she had heard this. She took a step forward and looked at the King, “…Yes, it is,” She began and swallowed for a moment, feeling her nerves beginning to build up from the strong intimidation that came from the King, “We… used a teleportation spell, which under a full moon, is impossible to do without a cell sample… I offered myself to switch places with Alice, that way I’d be able to escape with my powers.”

It was a great sacrifice that she made. And one that King Arthur had full-heartedly could tell seeing how she had arrived at the palace looking very clean and professional… Only to be there in front of him, covered in blood and what seemed to be dirt. Possibly from rushing around in a dire time of need. He smiled for a moment and looked over at Alfred specifically, all while still speaking with Natalya, “A brave young woman such as yourself is a characteristic of what makes a future Queen,” He spoke, which immediately had Alfred’s eyes widen, “…I can see you in the future becoming a very, powerful and strong Queen…if it is one day a case in the future.”

Becoming a Queen? Natalya looked at the King with confusion brought up to her eyes. What was he exactly talking about? She was nowhere near the type of royalty he and Alfred were — and he was thinking that she’d be able to serve that easily? Part of her wanted to laugh, but she held herself back by nodding and bowing her head once more, “…Thank you, your majesty.”

The thing was, as this was said, Alfred knew exactly what his father had been referring to. The green orbs that belonged to Arthur were staring right at the younger male, the message being loud and clear. While it wasn’t said aloud, Alfred got it immediately while he looked at Natalya. All he could see was her back since she was paying attention to the King…

…And she hadn’t even realized that was Arthur’s blessing to Alfred that when the time came when he was King and needed to find a Queen, she was a perfect candidate.

Alfred’s hands were in fists while he turned his head away. The thought of how he was supposed to become King in less than a year still baffled him… Let alone, this whole process of having to find a Queen to serve him was the last thing on his mind. He didn’t even know if that was what Natalya wanted… But at least he knew he got approval from his father through eye contact that if he decided she was the one, then there was a blessing.

“Now, some good news… Tomorrow we will have a royal court session to figure out where this terrorist group is located. We’ll stop them and bring an end to their hijacks, that way the Kingdom is safer… However,” He paused, “You’re injured, dear.” The King cleared his throat after a moment when breaking eye contact with Alfred. He looked down at Natalya, exchanging her a small smile before motioning to the door, “We have a doctor here that will be able to tend to your wounds if you wish. You may also use one of our guest rooms to clean yourself since I understand it’s been an eventful evening… As for you two in the back,” He looked over at Gilbert and Tatyana, “You two served well in this mission, and for that, I’d like to thank you both with at least a meal before your travels back to Magix.”

Food sounded amazing right then and there, Tatyana didn’t know what to say other than bow her head to the King in a panic, all while Gilbert chuckled and had done the same, “Thanks, your majesty,” He looked up at the ball, “We love to accept that offer.” 

“Wonderful,” A nod of understanding was given by Arthur once a plan was made. The cup of tea had been drinking was placed onto his desk before he walked over to the grand doors of his study; the doors immediately opening from the guards outside, “I’ll greet you all then before you depart.”

Watching the King leave was what felt like a relief in the room. While the man seemed very nice when there wasn’t any business going on, he was very intimidating to the point where no one would know how to respond to him.

Alfred approached Natalya and placed a hand on her shoulder, managing to catch her attention at that point, “Hey,” He smiled at her and reached down to take her hand gently, “I’ll bring ya to the doctor. And you can shower in my room, I don’t mind.”

That was an offer that she wouldn’t decline. While she would love to wander the palace, the thing was that she had no idea where anything was. If Alfred would be able to lead her to the doctor, then the showers - that would be great. Especially seeing that the temporary bandages that she had put herself from the medkit in the ship were not helping at all. She also felt gross too from flying, so she needed to shower before the fall festival at UHB.

“…Thank you,” Natalya leaned forward and placed a small kiss against Alfred’s cheek. He smiled at this, watching the girl reach over to cup his cheek to gently caress it, “I’d like that a lot.”

A nod was given by Alfred before he led her out of the King’s study. Gilbert had been the one to lead Tatyana to the dining room since he had known where it was. The pairs would meet up at the courtyard of the palace where the aircraft was still parked, that way, they would all be able to depart together and get back to UHB in time before Mei’s concert.

Walking through the hallways with him, it was at this point that Natalya had transformed herself back into her true human form. While this didn’t help to see that now her wounds were being covered by her clothing, it was better walking around as a human that as a fairy in a palace since usually magical beings were associated with battle if something was going on.

And the last thing she wanted was to cause panic to any of the guards that had been working there.

The thing was, that as the couple had been walking together, a thought lingered in Natalya’s mind… The thought of one day becoming a Queen. King Arthur seemed really serious about her becoming a Queen, which had her hum in thought, “Your father was really serious about what he said, huh? Me being a Queen?” She looked up at Alfred, “You think he was right about that?”

Alfred’s eyes widened the second this was brought up. He chuckled nervously and rubbed his neck, nodding, “I think so… You’re really strong-willed and well, you technically proved it by saving Alice… A ruler is supposed to always help their citizens in need,” He explained while continuing to hold onto her hand, “I know how much you hate Alice, but you put aside your differences with her to do a good deed. I think he sees you the greatest, honestly… Speaking of,” He began and turned his head forward so he could see where he was going, “My mother actually texted me before the meeting saying that because of what happened tonight with the dinner, she’s inviting us to go sailing next week… some fun at least after today’s bullshit.”

“That’s amusing…” Natalya chuckled to herself in thought. Alfred’s parents really liked her… And there she was, being nervous about seeing them again since the last thing she had seen them was in the summer. While during the day she got to spend time with Alfred’s family during her first visit, they had no idea about the kinds of things she and Alfred had done alone together when it was night. She would sneak from her guest room to sleep with him — at one point, she swore Alfred would break his damn bed for just how heated things became in the bedroom and one of his parents would hear… Her cheeks slowly turned red at the thought of it, “I’d love to go sailing, yeah… I just, I’m mainly amused that your dad thinks I could be a Queen. A Queen to what, Sparx? The magic dimension?”

 _‘…The Queen of Eraqion, maybe.'_ Alfred thought to himself for a moment as they walked. He didn’t let this thought get to him, but it still lingered in his mind by the time they arrived to the royal infirmary. He opened the door to guide her in, “Maybe. I wouldn’t worry about royal and Queen stuff now, I’d focus on first treating those wounds, and then getting back to training into becoming an amazing guardian fairy,” He smiled at her and leaned forward to kiss her cheek, “I’ll wait outside here for you when you’re finished.”

A small nod came from the girl when he had told her he’d wait. For one thing, while she has visited the Eraqion’s palace, it was overwhelming to her. Overwhelming to the point where she didn’t know where she was going, so to have Alfred guide her along the way, it was reassuring to her.

Walking into the infirmary, right away she was seen by the royal doctor. He noticed her wounds right away and got straight to bandaging her up. Fortunately, they were only cuts from the arrows, but still painful enough for her to give a small reaction when the doctor had cleaned and put some herbal medicine on the cuts so help the healing process. It was there she had the chance to learn more about the doctor… Apparently, he had been the trusted doctor of the royal family for many years and actually had been the ones to deliver Alfred and his brother when they were born.

That was the one thing that amused her greatly. Especially the part about most of the royal family was born right in the palace. Goodness, when Alfred said he was born and raised right in the palace, he wasn’t joking at all.

Stepping out of the infirmary, Alfred was right there as he promised. He greeted her with a smile upon seeing that her cuts were now all taken care of, before he offered a hand so he could lead her to his room, “Let’s get you cleaned up before we go.”

That’s right. She was still technically a mess from getting chased at earlier. There was the concert that evening too, and she didn’t want to embarrass herself for such a major, important occasion for Mei. She had to be there for her friend not looking embarrassing or dirty as she was now.

Alfred guided her to his bedroom now. While walking down the hallways became more familiar to her since she did go to his bedroom a few times when she stayed at the palace over the summer, she felt like she was reliving the experience of seeing it for the first time.

Upon arriving at the entrance of his room, that was when she was able to spot it out. The door had been grand but painted with what looked to be beautiful roses coming out from vines. He had told her once that it was a tradition in his family that each child of the royal family had the option to decorate their doors however they wanted, which in her eyes, was sort of cute.

Made it seem like his family was actually a normal family - nothing royally strict or anything of the sort.

The door was opened by him as he led her inside. The room was dark at first, but with a flick of light, the lights were turned on. Natalya had been greeted to what she had seen the last time she visited… His bed, a desk, and what looked to be a miniature ‘gaming spot’ for his games and all. There had been a bookshelf with a lot of books, as well as some of his weaponry from UHB set out that he had a chance to bring back.

“You remember where the bathroom is, right?” He had asked after a moment; closing the door behind them and locking it firmly. Just so they wouldn’t have any interruption, after all.

There was a reason he offered for her to come to his room instead of using the guest room, after all.

A nod came from Natalya once more while she removed her shoes, “You’re acting like I’m in a foreign country… More like a foreign palace,” She commented in a joking tone of voice, before making her way to the connected bathroom of the room. Her room in comparison to him was ten times smaller. She didn’t even have her own personal bathroom.

His bathroom though was a whole other place itself.

There was not only a bathtub and shower but a sink long enough for someone to lay down on top of. There was plenty of space so surely if he wanted to say, get some exercise for some reason in the bathroom, he could.

The thing was though, it was after she walked into the bathroom and closed the door, she assumed she was alone for now. And slowly, she began to remove the articles of clothing on her body. Starting off with the main outfit that Tatyana had helped her pick out earlier for the dinner and concert; laying it out so she could put it back on after she showered and rinsed her body. Followed by this, removing her undergarments as well.

The thing was, it seemed that the second she laid out her clothes and turned around to walk to the shower option of the bathroom…

…The lights had shut off completely.

Natalya found herself freeze the second the lights had gone out. There was no way there could be a power outage. Was Alfred playing a game with her? Pranking her and trying to scare her? “Alfred, this isn’t funny,” She called out; using her hands to try and find the shower door. Even if he was messing around with her, that wouldn’t stop her from taking a shower, “You know it’s hard to scare me.”

He wasn’t trying to scare her. If anything, the answer to her callout had been met by the feeling of arms wrapped around her. Natalya’s body was tense at first when feeling the arms… But then, she felt something else.

The bare skin… The skin against her chest, her rear… And wrapped around her arms, keeping her secure. Almost as if she were being protected.

_“I said we weren't finished talking about what happened earlier, Natalya."_

The one thing that she hadn’t gotten used to was Alfred and his sneaky ways. Upon hearing his voice, she could feel his face pressed against her neck while he continued to hold her close. It made sense why he was one of the top students of his class… Because he knew how to be stealthy very well. She didn’t even notice him when he opened the door and shut off the lights.

Hell, she didn't even know it was him until he had wrapped his arms around her and spoke to her.

That was exactly the case. The thing was that she made the first mistake following him into his bedroom. The second mistake was the fact that they were alone together…

…and the third mistake?

Leaving all of her clothes all in one pile, leaving her in her most vulnerable state to him.

And that’s an opportunity he wasn’t going to miss out on at all.

The shower hadn’t been turned on yet at all. All that could be seen in the bathroom had been darkness with the only exception being the moonlight that shined through the window. The thing was that while Natalya was planning a shower… She didn’t mind the fact that Alfred had gotten his way into the bathroom.

He did the same exact thing when she visited for the first time in the summer, after all. Anytime she was alone, and if she didn’t make it clear she wanted to be alone… Well, he was going to show up and take full advantage of it.

“You really scared me, you know...” His hand reached over to brush back her hair away from her shoulder. Natalya could feel goosebumps form along her skin the second the other had pressed his face into her neck; kissing along the skin. The heat was beginning to build up in her cheeks as she stood there; looking down at her feel all while Alfred seemed occupied taking in her scent, "I didn't want you getting hurt, and I let you get hurt... and I'm sorry about that..." He pulled back, slowly turning her around, “Showing up with all those cuts.... but..." He paused for a moment and held her a bit tighter around his arms, "...you looked so beautiful and powerful fighting... I just, couldn't help myself until now..."

Can’t help himself? The fact was that the second he had turned off the lights, she already knew. Natalya turned to face him; looking up at him as she found herself making eye contact with him. Even if she couldn’t see his face, she could tell it was him. By the way he touched her, how soothing his tone of voice was…

…She felt safe around him.

Her hand slowly went up to his arm while she could feel his hands slowly massage around her shoulders. She didn’t even have to look behind him to notice that his own clothing had been in the pile beside hers. All she needed was that touch, which as her hand went up, she allowed for it to go across his chest for her to figure out that he was in the same state as her.

Vulnerable to the touch.

“Yeah, I know, you pervert.” There was that teasing that came from Natalya when she said the, resulting in Alfred to chuckle in response, “I mean, I’d sneak into the bathroom too if I knew you were here naked all by yourself. But I'm fine, really... These cuts are no where near painful. Just a few nicks, I'll be fine in a few days.”

“Great minds think alike,” He teased her once more, now lowering his hands from her shoulders. It was at this point that Alfred reached over to cup her cheeks; leaning forward to press his forehead against hers, “…I’m sure after today, with all this fuckin’ chaos, you’re probably as tense as I am, huh?”

Tense? Natalya rose a brow in a bit of curiosity by what he meant by this. Still, this didn’t stop her from resting her cheek against his hands; closing her eyes while his thumb ran across her skin, “Mm… I’m tired of battles, that’s for sure… but tense? I’m just frustrated… but _you’re_ tense?” She leaned forward now; inches away from his lips before whispering, “…I think that’s just you telling me you’re a horny dog.”

“Ouch.” That was once callout he wasn’t expecting to hear from the girl. He chuckled since he had to give her kudos for being honest about it. He wasn’t trying to make it vague. After all, going into that bathroom in the first place was the very first obvious clue, “…is that your way of hinting you’re down for a quickie?”

The question was answered within seconds of being asked. Natalya leaned forward from her place; pressing what seemed to be a deep kiss against Alfred’s lips.

That was enough of a confirmation that he needed to reach over and grab her by the hips; lifting her up and bringing her right to the counter of the sink.

It had been a few weeks since the last time they were both alone like this. It was a great opportunity to release some pent up frustration; which already based on the eagerness that came from both parties - they both needed it.

Alfred pried her legs open the second she had sat on the countertop. The bedroom door was locked, so there was no way of someone walking in and catching them. They would have to leave in the next hour if they were going to make it on time for the concert, but for the both of them, all they needed was twenty minutes if it was going to be a true quickie.

As their mouths pressed together, already Alfred had pressed his tongue straight into her mouth, wanting to establish that dominance straight away with no hesitation. It was unexpected, and while Natalya tried to fight back for it, he was firm in his place. To even get her to give in, he already had found his fingers beginning to play in the folds in between her legs.

A soft moan escaped from the woman the second he did this. He got her. No fighting it at all, Natalya thought to herself while her arms slowly wrapped around his shoulders to bring the other close. Her tongue had meshed against his; taking in the taste of her lover all while the first digit of his finger was pressed into her moist cavern.

And slowly, began the thrusting.

He was gentle with his hands. This wasn’t necessarily the first time they have had sex like this in a bathroom… Let alone, on a counter. It was a first, and he was planning on taking full advantage of it.

The first finger lasted a few seconds before the second finger was added. At that point, Alfred had begun thrusting both fingers in and out between her moist cavern, all while Natalya could feel what sounded like gasping moans escape her throat from between the heated kiss that took place with their mouths.

There was a point where Natalya had pulled her arms back from his shoulders; reaching down with one hand to wrap around the length of his manhood. She was slow the second her hand made contact with the member, which she began stroking up and down the length of it despite already taking note that it was becoming stiff.

As for how long he had been this hard? She had to guess it was the second she walked into his room and he knew he was going to follow her in and catch her naked like this. It had felt like he had been hard for a while, and the response and behavior that came from him was enough confirmation for her to show that he was eager to fix that tense problem.

The thing was, Alfred had been thinking completely differently compared to Natalya.

When he believed that he got her in the state she wanted her in, his fingers had pulled out from in between her legs. He had a small grin on his lips when parting from the kiss; taking a mental note of what her face looked like after being finger-fucked for what felt like two minutes to her when it really had been a few seconds. Alfred slowly licked off any essence that had coated his fingers, before grabbing onto her hips and pulling her down.

This time, getting straight to the point by bringing both of her arms behind her and bending her over the counter of the sink. The thing was that Natalya hadn’t expected this, seeing that the next thing she felt was her face be pressed against the cool surface of the counter.

He was planning to fuck her there and then with no hesitation. While it was making love, it was also a fuck session to release out that pent frustration.

Alfred reached over to one of the drawers of the counter and pulled out what looked to be a box. He always had an extra stash of condoms if needed, which he had quickly opened with one hand while reaching for a package inside. Using his teeth quickly, he had opened rubber to slowly slide down his manhood, all while using one hand to keep Natalya restrained there and then for him.

A few more strokes were given to his manhood by his free hand before he moved himself over. Alfred looked down at her; chuckling to himself seeing how vulnerable she looked to him… It was crazy that this woman was technically the most powerful magical being in existence.

The crazier part? That he got her to fall in love with him, when his eyes, he felt like he was below average for a Princess like her. Which was why he found himself more and more seeing himself in the future being the one for her.

Alfred brought his crotch towards the moistened lips in between her lips. He had been slow; beginning with rubbing the tip of his manhood against it; resulting in a small shudder coming from Natalya while remaining bent over the counter. Then came the tip slowly pressing in… This resulted in a small moan of her, before eventually, he had begun to push himself in.

It was a tight feeling at first. It always was tight - after all, she hadn’t been expecting a quick fuck for the day. It just simply managed to work its way into their plans, that Natalya didn’t mind it at all. However, she did hold herself back from releasing any noises the more Alfred had pushed himself into her; filling the deepest parts of her cavern with just him. Nothing else. Only his manhood.

It was the same case for Alfred. The tightness around his manhood, it made him want to bust then and there as he groaned out. One hand continued to hold back her wrists, all while the other hand held onto her hips to keep her still. He was slow at first and gave her a moment to adjust to the new, filled feeling.

Before soon, the thrusts began.

They were rough. There was no hesitation coming from Alfred when he said he wanted a quickie. And quickies usually meant a quick, hard fuck that would release the built-up pressure, all while feeling good at the same time. Natalya let out small, panting gasps at each thrust that was made inside her. To the point where she found herself wanting to hold onto something, but she couldn’t.

He was restraining her to make sure she didn’t hold onto anything. All he wanted was her for all himself, and this was emphasized by the way his body weighed her down against the cool counter of the sink.

“Hn…hah…a-ah…” Moans could be heard in between the wet thrusting sound that came from against her rear. With each thrust he had made inside her, she could feel his balls just slamming against her all while the moistness from her excitement picking up the momentum of his thrusts. Her body was quivering at this point in sensitivity, but what Alfred did, made it worse.

His hand eventually let go of her wrists. Not to unrestraint her, but to this time, find himself bending over her. She was remaining absolutely still for him while his hips did all the work. The rough thrusting, where he made sure she was just filled with him, and nothing more. Each thrust had to be made deep enough to show that even if there was that layer of protection on him, he wanted to fill her. Be pressed against her womb for her to know that feeling of being stretched out to his manhood and no one else’s, ever.

The sounds of the thrusting echoed in the bathroom. If one were to pass by or hear, it sounded like rough slapping. The reality was that this wasn’t the case at all. Alfred kept her pushed down firmly, all while his face was pressed against her neck. He kissed down against her skin while on occasion whispering to her, “…cum for me, baby… it’s okay…”

The one thing that always made Natalya go wild was whenever he spoke in _that_ tone of voice. It wasn’t the bubbly, happy, friendly guy tone of voice that he had with everyone… No, this one was rougher - rougher and strict, but also had that sense of love in it to show that even if he was fucking her, he still loved her.

But anytime he spoke like that, it made her go wild.

“…Alfred…I-I…h-hah…” Natalya groaned into the counter with her face pressed into it now. Her walls were only becoming tighter and tighter with each thrust that was made. She didn’t know how long she could last if he was going this fast, especially since he wasn’t allowing her to move at all, “…I love you…”

Anytime she were to say those three dangerous words, that always got his heart beating. Alfred kept his grip around her before pressing a kiss against the shell of her ear; whispering once more all while keeping up the pace of his thrusts, “I love you too, babe…” He whispered, “…I love you so much…”

The session between the couple in the bathroom had lasted for just about twenty minutes - as expected for any quickie that they were to engage in. The two eventually met their needs when Natalya had been the first to reach her climax. She was quiet when she felt the pressure begin to build up in her abdomen, which when it had happened, all she could find herself doing was release what sounded to be a loud moan when the white substance had squirted onto the plastic rubber around Alfred’s manhood.

He had reached over immediately and covered her mouth the second she had moaned out. While he knew no one could hear them, he didn’t want anyone hearing his girlfriend’s moans. They were for only him to listen to, no one else. However, her moaning was enough of a turn-on to get him feeling that swollen pressure in his balls to release.

And alas, came his own orgasm.

Alfred held himself back from making any noise. When his orgasm had happened, he had slowed his thrusts; giving what seemed to be a few final, rough thrusts to get himself off, before remaining in place the second he felt his seed shoot straight into the rubber layer of protection around him. He groaned against Natalya’s ear; holding her firmly close against the counter.

The thrusts were slowing down. As he had his moment to release the build-up in his balls, a few more pounding thrusts were made before he slowly pulled out to be revealed the sight of her essence coating her folds.

Natalya was a mess. She was silent, but heavy breathing could be heard from her to show that the quickie was enough to get her satisfied and in a much better state than before. Even for Alfred, who had felt much better himself, let go of her now in favor of kneeling down in between her legs. Seeing that she was still bent over the counter, this allowed for him to grasp onto her thighs and hold onto them, all while his head stuck in between her legs and began to lick around her moistened folds to clean up her own climax from earlier.

It was a hot and wet feeling, but it was enough to get Natalya to calm down while keeping her head resting against the counter, “Mm…Alfred….”

It was amazing. Anytime they were to have these sessions alone, Alfred always left her blown away. It was the same case for him as well. Even if he was the one asking for a quick fuck, she never disagreed to it. Now if he could only try and figure out the signs of when she needed a quickie… Today was obvious after what had taken place earlier with rescuing Alice, but any other time?

It was hard to tell with her hard-to-read facial expressions.

He slowly helped her up from the counter once he was finished licking up the mess in between her legs. Instead of just leaving her standing and bent over, he picked her up once more; helping her sit on the counter before leaning forward and placing a small peck against her lips, “Stay here,” He whispered; this time to turn around to approach the lights to make them dim.

At least they could now see.

The dim lights were enough for Natalya to look up and see what he was doing. Minus the part of him removing the used condom and tossing it away, Alfred seemed to have been… Preparing a bath. He had been checking the water to make sure it was warm, followed by pouring in what looked to be… Essential oils and bubbles? She had no idea.

But she did know it was for the both of them the second Alfred had approached her and picked her up in a bridal style manner. She wasn’t expecting it, but she allowed him to pick up and carry her over to the bath where they both climbed in. Being in the bath especially allowed for her to sit in his lap while he wrapped his arms around her; kissing her cheek and holding her close in an affectionate manner.

Feeling the hot water from the bath had her body relax entirely to him. He knew that she was one of those girls who loved the burning, boiling feeling of hot water against her skin. He didn’t mind this at all. While he preferred colder baths, just out of personal preference, he sat in that hot bath with her because it wasn’t the bath he wanted. It was the snuggles he was getting in to release that needy, affectionate side. She dealt with the horny side with him, and now she was getting the after-caring snuggle-y side of him no one ever got to see but her.

After such an intense night, she wouldn’t even be mad if Alfred had suggested that they just stay the night there. But she did make a promise to Mei and Florentyna that she’d be there for the concert. Alas, when the two had crawled out of the bath to clean up, she was kind of sad.

There would be other opportunities to spend alone like this though.

Hopefully, the next time was soon.

* * *

The sounds of heels clicking against the hard surface of the ground could be heard throughout the hallways of the palace. Silence lingered in the space, allowing for Gelinda to walk directly to the throne room. Behind her, both Avians and Nebula followed in suit, with the intention of making a second to last delivery to their Dark Lord.

The entrance of the throne room was opened through a pair of grand doors made out of glass. As the doors opened, the three witches were greeted to the sight of the ruler of Shadow Haunt sitting in a chair made out of stone and rubble. He slouched in his seat; watching the three ladies as they approached him and gave him a bow. In front of him, there had been an orb, laid out with the first two pieces of the key to the Realm of Relix.

The orb that glew of power only having one image.

And this image, being none other than the Princess of the magic dimension.

Demande rose a hand to the three witches to signify that they have permission to rise. Gelinda rose first, where she walked over to the table and placed down the third key - a step closer to accomplishing their mission, “The third Codex, my lord,” She spoke with another bow, before taking note of the glowing orb on the table.

Disgust immediately filled her expression.

And so, she didn’t hesitate to speak out with an annoyed expression to her face, “If I may, your wickedness… Is there something with Princess Natasha that you need?”

Silence came from the man when the question was asked. It was a daring one, but one where he had given a small shrug to before looking at the orb. His hand reached for it, where he had played back the events earlier on Eraqion when she was being chased by the terrorists.

“…You have a strong dislike for her, Gelinda. I’ve noticed this,” He spoke; his hand caressing the magical orb before turning an eye over to the girl. His bright, red eyes, piercing into her soul in intimidation which resulted in her going deadly silent, “Do you realize who she becomes in the future?”

“No?” Gelinda looked at the man with an unamused expression to her face, “All I know is that her family isn’t a problem anymore. The second she’s dead, the end of her legacy comes.”

Demande stared at the woman for a moment. A long silence followed pursuit before he had immediately burst into laughter. The laughter echoed throughout the throne room, which had Avians and Nebula look at their ruler with concern brought to their expressions. Had Gelinda said something wrong? Even she couldn’t figure it out.

The thing was, the Dark Lord was heavily amused.

“Her legacy doesn’t die in the future. If anything, this time we are in, is only the beginning of her era to rise as Queen,” As this was said, Gelinda’s eyes widened. Someone like Natalya becoming Queen? How was that even possible, when her entire family was gone? “The Queen of the Magic Dimension in her youth…” He chuckled to himself, “…in her most vulnerable state… So young, compared to twenty years into the future. Tell me, what would you do if you had an enemy you know will be successful in the future, but had the chance to see their past selves?”

Things were beginning to sound more confusing. Aviana took a step forward toward the Dark Lord, giving him a bow to acknowledge she planned on speaking, “I don’t mean to question you, Dark Lord, but are you suggesting you know about the future?”

A smirk formed along his lips.

That was enough confirmation that the three witches needed for them to figure out the Dark Lord seemed to know more about the future compared to them. He was more experienced in using dark magic… It would only make sense.

But how could he know so much about it?

“My intentions of opening the Realm of Relix wasn’t to necessarily travel into the future,” The Dark Lord explained to the three witches, now lowering his hand from the magic orb all while turning his direction to the three Codexes, “There is one more task that must be done before we unlock the time and space portal… And this last task involves her.”

The hand lingered over the orb once more. Again, another image showed up to reveal what looked like Natalya to the three witches… But, it wasn’t.

She looked… Older. Mature. More powerful, radiating in energy. She had a serious expression on her face, looked more experienced, all while standing amongst a group of fairies and heroes. She wore a beautiful white gown, her hair had been long past her ankles, where it had been decorated in beautiful jewels. The dominating guardian fairy of the dragon flame and heart of ice…

…twenty years into the future!

“I plan to rule this dimension as the next King,” Were the first words that came from Demande, resulting in him looking over at the three witches, “My plan is clear. I will make Princess Natasha mine, so that way in the future, she will be my Queen. That woman is who she will become as fate has it decided. For she doesn’t know now. But I do. Which is why I have the perfect plan to make sure I have her in my possession. She will lead us to the last piece of the Codex and into my grasp as my wife…

_…and all I have to do is use my little puppet disguised as a Professor at Lenfia to get her.”_

* * *

_“Welcome all! Welcome everyone to the University of Heroic and Bravery’s fall festival! This evening is a night where we will be celebrating a new fall semester on a brand new campus! We have a musician who will be joining us tonight to perform a few songs, so stay tuned! For now, here are a few announcements from our Headmaster.”_

Cameras had been flashing from the audience as the Commander of all first, second, and third-year students had handed the microphone to the Headmaster. As Elijah took the stage, he continued the welcome ceremony by getting into the detail of what exactly the fall festival will entail. From performances to food - it was a day that no one wanted to miss.

A huge majority of the magic dimension had been attending this event. Including parents of students from UHB and Lenfia had come to support the heroes, especially after the tragedy of their previous campus being destroyed during the attacks from the witches earlier that year.

Mei had been sitting backstage with her head inside her hands. Was she really making a mistake being there? Her Pixie had convinced her to go to the performance, but the thing was, she knew how her father could be. It was the culture in their family - to have high expectations that a child does well.

But that threat her father had given her about unenrolling from Lenfia… She knew he had been serious about that. She hadn’t told anyone else what was going on in her mind. Not even to Elizabeta and Florentyna who were backstage with her, preparing for the upcoming show. Elizabeta wouldn’t be performing, but she was helping out until Natalya could arrive with Tatyana.

Mei sat in her seat while scrolling through her phone. She had been on social media for all magical beings; where she could see the number of producers and directors coming to the show tonight to see what talented students there were…

…She hoped that this would be worth it.

On the top of her hair, two pigtails had been parted halfway with pink streaks in them, She had been wearing a black shirt with glitter decorated along with it, as well as had been wearing a large, white goofy skirt. She wore a pair of black combat boots, while she had glitter decorated around her eyes for makeup. She had a bit of a punk-rock look to her appearance, but that’s how she was. Punky cute, that was her style.

Florentyna had been very much the opposite of her. While she had been performing too, she had been wearing a violet skirt with a matching blouse, her hair had been pulled back into a high ponytail with the ends being curled, all while she wore a pair of golden heels, She wore earrings made out of crystals and had been finishing herself up by applying on some make-up.

She noticed though, how shaky Mei seemed to be at the moment.

The lipstick she was using was lowered down before she looked over at Mei with a concerned expression to her face, “Are you nervous?”

The question caught Mei off guard before she looked up at Florentyna, quickly shaking her head in response, “No no, it’s just—“ She sighed and looked down, “…I guess… yeah. I’m nervous… not to perform in front of everything, it’s just, my dad… He—“

“—Ohmygosh Mei, you shouldn’t be worried at all!” Florentyna immediately interrupted and stood up from her seat, approaching the other to place her hands on her shoulders, “You got this. Seriously, you are one of the most talented fairies I have ever met. You play so many instruments, write amazing songs - and let’s talk about that voice of yours! It’s so energetic and hype, I love it, and I’m sure everyone else is going to love it too!”

Hearing these words made Mei’s heart drop. It made her feel more confident about the situation, but it wasn’t that she was nervous about performing. It was mainly at the fact that her father could be out there in that audience, and the second he saw her stand on that stage, he would try to stop her when someone like a producer could be in the audience watching it all!

She looked down at her lap. Her fingers had been holding onto the poofy skirt she wore as a sense to relieve her anxiety… If it had been someone’s hand, well, it probably would’ve been broken with how tight she was holding onto it, “It’s just not that simple, Florentyna…”

_“And now, it is my pleasure to welcome our opening act of the night! Here to sing with you this evening, is not only a fairy from Lenfia College but a talented musician and composer who plays ten instruments! Ten instruments - isn’t that amazing!? Well, she’s worked hard to bring an amazing show to you!”_

Mei looked up now. Oh no, she didn’t even realize that she was about to go on and perform so soon. Quickly, she had gotten up from her chair, since technically the first song that was planned was her and Florentyna’s duet. She walked over to what looked to be an electric guitar sat out, where she grabbed onto it, while Florentyna had reached for the piano that was set out.

Indeed, Florentyna would be performing an instrument as well. While she wasn’t as musically advanced as Mei, she did grow up learning piano. It was an expectation that a Princess such as her at least learn one instrument, after all.

The Commander of the University’s voice continued to fill the stage while the audience could be heard clapping in excitement, “ _After she graduates from Lenfia, she plans to serve the magic dimension as a guardian fairy of all music. But first, has a dream of becoming an idol. I’d like to welcome you all to the stage, Xiao Mei!”_

 _‘Oh gosh oh gosh…’_ Mei walked over to the curtain of the stage while Florentyna stood beside her with what looked to be an excited smile on her face. She could feel her nerves continuing to build up while she thought to herself, _‘Please mom, I know you’re out there, just please be by my side for this.’_

The curtains were drawn back now while the cheers only continued to increase in volume. The second the two girls were exposed to the large audience, which for Mei and Florentyna, they were more shocked about since they didn’t expect for it to be that big - their nerves practically vanished as they both walked out hand-in-hand while waving to greet everyone. The Commander at this point, taking a step down to leave the show to both of them.

The thing was that with how large the audience was, Mei hadn’t even seen her father. She had no idea where he was, but she instead focused on approaching the microphone in front of the stage before speaking into it, “Hi everyone!” She began with a smile drawn to her lips, “How’s everyone doing tonight!? It looks like the entire magic dimension is here!”

Laughter could be heard from the audience when she said this. She was only joking, only to give time for Florentyna to set up the electric piano she had brought out. Her hands had been waving back and forth in magic as the piano began to take shape in front of her, followed by a microphone in front as well so she’d be able to sing.

The timing of the two girls coming onto the stage was perfect. For those who had been just arriving back from Eraqion, the four had just landed and had been practically sprinting to where the stage was set out at UHB, which was in the main courtyard of the school. Everyone who was attending the fall festival could see it, as well as for the large screens accompanying the view of Florentyna and Mei together.

What made it even more perfect was the fact that as the four arrived, they managed to spot the rest of the group of their friends in the middle of the crowd. Monika and Elizabeta, who had just came from back-stage, as well as for Antonio, Mathias, and the Pixies who were joining from Lenfia since they technically were all invited as well to the showcase.

Gilbert had approached his sister first, smirking for a moment and covering her eyes with his hands, “Boo.”

The second this was done, the woman had let out a small, panicked shriek and turned around, hitting his shoulder with an annoyed expression to her face, “That wasn’t funny, Gilbert!”

“Yeah, but it was funny to me,” Natalya spoke from behind Alfred, who seemed to have been holding out a phone innocently to record the scene. Monika’s eyes widened when she realized this before more laughter ensued from the group.

“Let me guess,” Mathias turned to face the group with his arms crossed, “I imagine this was a planned idea on your way back to UHB?”

“Yes and no,” Gilbert responded with a small shrug, “I just like scaring Moni.”

“And I just had my phone out conveniently at the right time,” Natalya responded, not even hesitating on this as she walked forward so she could have a better view of the stage. Just as Mei had told her, it was absolutely huge. A crazy size to accommodate a large audience such as the one that was there. At that point, Homura had flown directly to her for a hug, which she had immediately taken in by holding the Pixie close, “Did we make it in time?”

“Yeah,” Elizabeta called out in response with CeCe on her head, babbling away while waving a light green glow stick, “Looks like Mei and Florentyna are about to begin.”

And the beginning was exactly correct of what came from Elizabeta. Mei, who had been finished entertaining the audience while Florentyna finished, exchanged a nod with the blonde before turning her head over to the mic, “Alright! So this song is one that I actually made for tonight with one of my good friends, Florentyna, also known as the Princess of Solis. We call this song, _Alchemy.”_

The lights began to dimmer down the second she said this, followed by cheering and clapping from the supportive audience. Mei took in a breath, giving one more look to Florentyna who nodded before she turned around and held onto the pick she used whenever she played the guitar. It had been a gift from her brother before she left Lenfia for whenever she wanted to practice.

And she needed was much family as she could at that moment with the amount of anxiety she had.

Within seconds, the loud strumming of the guitar could be heard throughout the stage. The clapping and cheering only increased the second she began playing. Florentyna had followed just beside her; her fingers playing along the keys while what looked to be pages of small sheet music floating in front of her so she wouldn’t mess up.

Soon enough, Mei turned back to the mic and sung, _“I want to live forever. If I could live forever, everything would come true,”_

 _“The time I have left to live, the coordinates of my dream, the place where I am.”_ Florentyna leaned towards her microphone while singing the next part of lyrics, all while Mei had strung away at the guitar, _"They’re all important things, but…”_

 _“All right, let's stay here for a little and eat something sweet._ ” They both sang in unison as the cheers continued, _“I only got good at turning off my brain like that.”_

The two performing together had the crowd go ballistic in excitement. The hype and energy that came from the song that was being sung - it was exactly what the evening needed for such a fun event at UHB. For those who had been in the audience that knew to two, were absolutely shocked. Specifically, the heroes of UHB and Elizabeta in particular, who hadn’t been used to such musical energy from Mei.

For those who had lived with Mei for the past year though, this being Natalya, Tatyana, and Monika - this was very normal for them. But, seeing her perform on stage instead of their bedroom, it was a whole new experience, that even they couldn’t help but to be cheering along to her and Florentyna in support.

 _“When I look back at the road I walked down, I get fed up with how there's nothing but bad experiences!”_ Mei had sung the melody, all while Florentyna had sung the harmony. The two were in unison at this point, singing their song and just having fun on the stage as they did so. The piano notes that came from Florentyna in accompanying to Mei’s electric guitar made it so while it was a meaningful song, there was also a sense of passion and energy to it, _“Making the things I touch shine - that kind of path is the one I wanted to live,”_

Mei’s guitar had taken place in replacement of the music as the two moved onto the second verse of the song. As her fingers played around the strings, Mei could feel her nerves slowly beginning to calm down, seeing that she hadn’t noticed her father at all. Maybe things were going to be okay in her favor, after all.

And so, the second verse began with Florentyna opening up to it when Mei had finished the guitar interlude, _“I desperately want to live. All these impatient days seem like they'll disappear,”_

 _“But I try skipping class - it's all just so tiring... My thoughts are contradictory like that.”_ Mei sang in follow-up to Florentyna’s part of the song, before it had jumped back to her.

As she played the harmony part of the song with the piano while Mei remained in the lead, Florentyna brought her lips to her microphone and sang her heart away - just having fun with it at this point while she admired the cheering and light sticks that came from the crowd in support, _“It's like my head was hit somewhere while I was unaware. Alright then, let's make a quick stop at the hospital around here. Do you have any medicine that'll keep me awake forever?”_

The unison came again from the both of them while the two energetically sang into their microphones, the cheers and clapping becoming louder and louder, _“It feels like I'm going to fossilize, just vacantly standing still the way I am,”_ Both Mei and Florentyna sang, _“My existence is going to dark! Like something is forgotten - by everyone.”_

Mei had backed away from the microphone at that point to allow Florentyna to focus on her piano playing. It was her solo part of the song after all, while she kept her distance and strung along to the harmony of it. The thing was that now that she wasn’t singing and could focus more on the crowd, she continued to scan the audience, her anxiety beginning to build up more and more…

…until she noticed the familiar black hair that was pulled back into a low ponytail.

The eye contact was there. The stern, strict look of his face. There was no anger, but the disappointment in her father’s eyes was similar to being shot right on the spot on stage. She didn’t expect to find him in the middle of Florentyna’s solo… And suddenly, she found her anxiety spike up to the roof, to the point where her guitar playing began to slow down.

Slow down to the point where Florentyna had immediately noticed this. Something was wrong, she thought to herself as she looked over at Mei, who looked more horrified compared to nervous earlier.

Had something happened? Was she okay?

The playing eventually stopped from Mei, leaving for only Florentyna to be playing. When it had been just about to jump into the third verse, nothing came from Mei at all. She stood there, absolutely silent and frozen like a deer in headlights while the powerful glare came from her father.

A glare that made her want to run off that stage then and there because she didn’t want to be unenrolled from Lenfia. This was her passion — to sing in front of an audience and express her love of music. How each person deep in their hearts, had a musical melody tied to their souls… That was the message her father used to teach her as a child.

Yet, seeing him angry broke her heart then and there.

Florentyna stopped playing at that point. The cheering that had come from the crowd slowly began to die down in hype upon noticing that something was wrong. The song didn’t seem to be over yet - so what was going on?

“Mei?” Florentyna turned the microphone away from her and approached the other, placing a hand on her shoulder with a concerned expression on her face, “What’s wrong?”

Hearing the voice didn’t seem to break Mei out of the feelings that she was going through. As much as she appreciated Florentyna as a close friend, she just… Felt her heart beginning to pick-up in pace. The silence came from the audience at the realization that there was something going on with Mei, and that’s when it had happened.

The tears beginning to well up in her eyes at the multitude of thoughts that were going through her mind.

_I shouldn’t have ever done this._

_He’s going to take me out of Lenfia now._

_I’m never going to become a guardian fairy._

_…I’m never going to be able to sing like this ever again._

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” The tears began to form in her eyes the longer she stood there, unsure of what to say or even do.

The guilt was beginning to catch up to her, to the point where she knew what was happening. It was a full-blown panic attack she was having, which Florentyna didn’t know how to respond - especially seeing that the other had suddenly begun crying and breathing heavily on stage.

_“Mei!”_

The sudden voice from the crowd that had come from the audience was one that had both Florentyna and Mei turn around. Everyone had heard this, including Mei’s father, who had slowly turned his head over to the source of the voice.

And that’s when she could see it. The waving hand from the crowd of what looked to be a bright pink glow stick. Her and Florentyna were confused at first, but when the additional glow sticks came from the other hands, that’s when they knew.

It was all of their friends… Monika, Tatyana, Elizabeta - with Natalya being the one to call out to the two on stage.

 _“You got this!”_ Natalya called out once more, which now everyone had immediately recognized the voice. People surrounding the group of fairies were shocked to even be in the presence of the Princess, which had them back away from being startled. Natalya didn’t care about this at all, but soon she continued by speaking loudly, “This is your dream, right!? Then make it damn come true right now!"

“We’re all here for you!” Tatyana called out to the other herself with her hands cupping around her mouth so she could project louder. That same, comforting smile was on her expression when she said this, “And we all love you! You can do it!”

Mei’s eyes widened in the realization of what was going on. She didn’t even realize that Natalya and Tatyana had made it to the concert… She thought they were going to be late, which was fine - but the fact that they were there to support her in a dire time of need, she felt her tears beginning to calm down at that point.

Florentyna rushed off to the front of the stage where a water bottle had been being held out to her by one of the backstage crew assistants. Once the bottle was handed over, she brought it over to Mei to have a few sips out of, as well as a tissue, “See, it’s okay sweetie,” Florentyna spoke to the other with a smile on her face, “You’re alright.”

_“You can do it, Mei!”_

_“We all support you and your dream!”_

_“Mei, Mei, Mei!”_

The chanting from the audience came out of support to the girl. Mei felt her face go red at the moment out of pure embarrassment, but she seemed to have found her composure seeing all of the support that came from everyone. She had looked over at Florentyna and whispered at one point, “…I’m going to get to the next song if that’s okay.”

“…Next song?” Florentyna whispered, clearly confused. There were only two songs planned, which was with a surprise guest. Did Mei have something else planned? “What do you mean? I thought there were only two?”

“…yeah, there _was.”_ Mei swallowed and looked over to her father, who now looked concerned since he hadn’t been expecting for his child to have what looked to be a panic attack on stage,“…but there’s another song I need to get out of my chest.”

When the explanation was provided, Florentyna looked over at the audience, then at her again, before nodding in understanding. She had no idea what was going on, but she held her hands out towards the piano, allowing for it to vanish into thin air. She smiled at the other and patted her cheek, “I’m here for you. I’ll be right backstage.”

“Thanks…” Mei sighed for a moment before watching Florentyna turn around and walk behind the curtain of the stage.

It was only her now on that stage. No one else. Just Mei, in front of what had been a supportive audience, cheering and calling out her name to keep going. The thing was, Mei had something completely different in mind. She looked down at the electric guitar for a moment in thought, before feeling herself connect to her magical energy.

Within seconds, a bright light had formed around the guitar as it transformed into a new instrument… A regular, old, acoustic guitar.

But it hadn’t been just any acoustic guitar.

It was one that her father had recognized immediately the second he noticed the girl holding onto it.

Mei stepped up to the microphone that was still on before taking in a breath. The cheering seemed to have died down the second she did this since people did want to hear what she had to say. She took in a breath for a moment before grasping onto the mic and closing her eyes, trying to find the right words to say. By the time she opened them, all she could see was the audience staring at her.

“…the last time I stood on a stage like this, I was six years old…” She whispered, wanting to explain herself in the moment of her anxiety flaring up at the moment, “Before… Coming here this evening, I was sitting backstage remembering that last… and what I assumed to be my final time… on a stage. I was six years old… and it was two weeks before my mom died.”

She swallowed for a moment and reached over for the guitar. Her hand held onto the neck of the guitar, while the strap around her shoulders supported the body of the guitar.

“I wrote this song… Hoping that I’d be able to sing it one day in an audience for my parents. I call this, _My Melody_.” Mei took in a breath before turning her head away from the mic.

And so, the slow stringing of the song began.

The stage echoed with the notes she had played on the guitar as the opening part of the song. It wasn’t hype or energetic like the song Mei had sung earlier with Florentyna. There was a sense of love and passion for it. Especially since she seemed to have been giving her all to it before she leaned forward and began to sing after the intro, _“There's no curtain call, there’s no point in life at all if each day ends and this bent heart of mine cannot heal. I can't see a darn thing, but could it be that the gray clouds that I loved completely blind me?”_

As she sang, Yao found himself relaxed in his composure while examining her closely. When he had said earlier that he planned on unenroll her from Lenfia for doing the concert, he had meant it. But as someone who had taught music in magic for many years, hearing the song and the connectivity she had with it through the lyrics… Now, he was intrigued.

 _“They're souls like me and you, who aren't aware of what they do. Always laughing in the face of danger and truth. Can't they see right through their hazy glee, that nothing good comes of rushing in blindly?”_ Her fingers strung the strings of the guitar while she had her eyes closed. She wasn’t playing anything based on a music-sheet, this was all coming to her through her powers. That was what was unique about her… Connecting to music as the fairy of all music, and creating melodies for songs that came from the deepest parts of her heart, _“I'll keep moving on, no matter what may come my way. And I'll sing… not fearing what they say.”_

Loud strumming came at this point. The lights had focused directly on her in the middle of the stage while she transitioned into the chorus, which at this point, people had begun cheering in support of her in the audience. Even her friends who were standing there in the audience watched her sing; Elizabeta and Gilbert waving their glow sticks in support, all while Natalya stood there with Alfred’s arm around her, holding her close in the moment.

Because if there was one thing about the song, there was a lot of passion and love in it. A love for music and these were her true feelings she had been experiencing for a long time.

 _“Deep in my heart, I know for sure…! That you are hurt, feel insecure and surly crying…! Because you are… only human.”_ Mei sang passionately into the microphone as the audience exploded in cheers and support for her. The lights had turned fully back onto the stage while she strung away at the guitar, followed by applauding from the audience. Even her father, who had found himself tearing up listening to the song, clutched onto his chest while a growing smile formed along his lips, _“These tears of mine are screaming out…!: ‘It's not a lie,’ and as I cry I want to thank you…! For showing me…! What I could be…”_

The guitar playing slowly began to calm down as she transitioned towards the end of the short song. Mei opened her eyes and scanned through the audience, indeed managing to make eye contact with her father who had been so touched by the power of her song. He hadn’t known this was how she was feeling… And the fact that he had said that he would strip her away from her dream for the sake of her safety and this plan of becoming a guardian fairy…

…No, there was a whole other reason she wanted to be an idol in addition to being a guardian fairy. The power and magic that radiated from her music and sent a powerful, positive amount of energy to the crowd - Yao now understood. She wasn’t using music as a hobby - she was using it as a way to connect with people’s hearts.

Every person has a melody in her heart… Mei had been telling him that for years, but he never understood it. Her sharing the melody in her heart in front of him and a crowd of hundreds made him understand. That was her melody. Her song.

That was why the title of the song was called, _My Melody._

 _“I won't let go…”_ The guitar playing slowly came to an end with her voice ending the song entirely, _“I thank you so..."_

The cheers were practically being screamed out from the audience when this had happened. It was such a wonderful song, that everyone had been blown away in amazement by it while Mei stood there, bowing her head while holding herself back from trying not to cry.

When she needed her mother at the moment, it was the perfect timing. She felt more confident in the situation, less stressed, and not as nervous as she was compared to before.

Florentyna sprinted from the backstage and didn’t hesitate to tackle Mei right onto the back into a tight hug, the cheering only progressively getting louder and louder in support, “Mei, ohmygoshI’mactuallygoingto CRY!” She had spoken fast while hugging her tight; tears streaming down her own cheeks, “That was so beautiful, I’m just — speechless! Amazed! It makes me want to call my mom now and give her a big hug! That was amazing!”

Mei felt her face beginning to burn out of embarrassment. That was when she noticed someone flying directly from the crowd — a Pixie that she had spent time earlier that day.

Ella, who wasn’t going to miss this opportunity of giving her bonded fairy hugs, was exactly what she had done. The Pixie pressed her face into Mei’s chest, hugging her tightly by squishing her face into her, “How did you do that, Mei!?” She began in amazement, “You told me you only had two songs!”

“Yeah,” Mei winked and patted the other’s head gently, “But I’ve had this song in my heart for… more than ten years now. I think it was time to let it out to everyone.”

That was when she realized she couldn’t keep her audience waiting. There was one more song that she had planned for the show that she wanted to finish off with, and thus, leading for her to look over at Florentyna with a smirk to her face.

“You ready for this last song?” She asked.

Florentyna gasped in the realization of what the girl was doing. The thing was that this song was originally supposed to be sung by her… But, earlier that day, the two had an amazing idea, “Oh, you know I’ve been so excited for this idea since we came up with it,” She winked and held out her hands to form the piano once more.

Mei stepped up to the microphone and held onto the guitar her shoulders carried. Within seconds, the guitar had changed back to the original electric guitar she had been using earlier, before she took in a breath, “Thank you guys, really. You have no idea how great it feels to finally sing that song,” She admitted, the cheers continuing more and more, “I actually want to take the time to ask someone if she could join me on stage… Not only is she more experienced with performing in a crowd and on an actual stage, but she helped me and Florentyna prepare for this entire thing…

…And that’s one of my close friends, _Natalya_.”

As this was said, Natalya’s eyes widened in horror. The last thing that she ever expected to hear coming from Mei was that because she had no intention of going up on that stage. Even then with people staring at her, she shook her head quickly with a panic, “I am not getting up there—“

“—Meh, too late, she already called you out babe,” A smirk was given by Alfred when hearing the panic in his girlfriend’s tone of voice. With a small smack to her rear, which to the people around them, looked like a small shove with his hand on her shoulder, Natalya had let out a yelp as she glared at the other with a reddened face.

He was right though. Mei technically called her out, and it would be bad to not go up there and at least take some credit for helping her out in the first place.

Natalya sighed for a moment and walked toward the stairs of the stage now. More and more cheering could be heard from the grand audience, especially since many had immediately recognized her based on her true title in the magic dimension. She approached Florentyna and Mei, who seemed to have smirks on their faces the second she had gotten herself on stage, “I’m here, happy?”

Fortunately, no one other than the two fairies could hear this seeing that the microphone was directly in front of Mei’s face. This was all part of the plan she had, and she knew that Natalya wouldn’t be able to escape at all see that she was in front of a large crowd that looked up and respected her, _“_ Now that I’ve got her trapped in my grasp, you may know Natalya here as the Princess of the magic dimension. But before that, as I said, she helped me prepare for today by teaching me a lot about performing — which is why I’d like to ask if she’d be willing to sing a duet with me, at least once to end off the show.”

That was the icing on the cake. The crowd had begun cheering more when this was proposed. Even for their actual friends in the crowd, no one had expected for Mei to suggest a proposal like that with Natalya. She wasn’t the who was musically inclined in the group — that was Mei.

The only ones who had known about this idea though were Mei and Florentyna. As a way to at least give Natalya credit and to have fun, they figured they could trap her in a duet. A duet that they knew she knew, seeing that she was there for a majority of the concert rehearsals while Florentyna was singing it.

But Florentyna gave up her part for the sake of Natalya having a chance to have some fun and perform. After all, it shouldn’t be hard or nerve-wracking to her, right?

The thing was - Natalya didn’t sing at all. Sure, she had sung once or twice during Mei’s concert rehearsals _just for fun_ \- big emphasis on the word _fun_ in her vocabulary - but it looked like Mei gave zero fucks in the situation. She didn’t care, was calling her out, and was trapped right at the moment.

“Mei, I can’t—“ Natalya spoke out in a panicked tone, but it was already too late. Florentyna had grabbed the microphone that was lingering over her piano and handed it over to the blonde, who stood there as stiff as a rock, unsure of what to say or do, “Mei—!“

“Relaxxxx…” Mei winked at the other before turning to the crowd, “You know this song. Trust me.” As she said this, a million songs filled her mind. What kind of song was Mei talking about?! She only knew the ones that she had sung in her rehearsal, that was it! “I’d like to call this final song, _The Bird Song_.”

And she knew it right away. The second Mei had begun stringing away to the opening of the song right through her guitar, Natalya’s mind immediately came in remembrance of the rehearsals of this one song. Florentyna always sang the first part and was going to be duetting this with her… But the fact that she had been standing there, playing along with a piano with what looked to be an evil smirk on her face—

How long did these two have it planned!?

An annoyed, frustrated expression formed on Natalya’s face as she brought the microphone up to her head while the fast beat of the song kicked in. She never got nervous at performing when she was on Earth - but singing!? Again, she has sung at the rehearsals for fun - there was never an expectation that she’d be performing it on a damn stage in front of a large crowd.

“I’m going to kill you both, I swear,” Natalya spoke in a threatening, tone of voice into the microphone while laughter came from the audience and turning around so she could mentally prepare herself. Even from her friends, who were _not_ expected to see this type of behavior from her, were cheering and clapping along to the fast beat of the guitar intro by Mei. And so, she turned herself back around brought the microphone to her lips, _“There's a wall of shutters right behind me..”_

Shocked expressions filled the audience upon everyone hearing someone like her - the one that many had known as the daughter of the dimension - to be singing like that! It hadn't been bad at all. In resopnse to this, loud cheering could be heard in support of the Princess, all while Alfred's jaw had been dropped wide open.

And the damn woman said she couldn't sing.

"Wow..." Alfred reached for his phone and held it up, beginning to record the sight of it, "This is something I'm _never_ going to forget."

The song though, then continued. 

_“My fingertips suddenly smell like steel,”_ Mei sang into her own microphone, continuing from the duet before it was passed back to the other.

 _“Move ahead, strum those strings,”_ Natalya's hand was tight around the microphone while keeping it up to her mouth, singing along to the lyrics that she remembered hearing Florentyna sing, _“The crowd's right here, anyhow.”_

 _“Fly away from here.”_ The two sang together in unison to welcome the chorus, the glow sticks from the audience continuing to wave back in forth in the air out of the support from the crowd, _“You'll find what you're looking for….! Let’s go, rock, and play on…! Gaze into the distance…! Inside this city where you can't even take a breather.”_

There was a pause in the singing while Mei and Florentyna continued on with the melody. With this pause, Natalya had turned her head away; face reddened in embarrassment while the cheers from the crowd continued. This was hard for her because she wasn’t a singer at all… But she kept going for the sake of this concert really means a lot to Mei, _“The starry sky is the best stage of them all.”_

 _“The little birds cry out, 'tweet tweet,' above me!”_ Mei smirked as she sang the next phrase of the song.

 _“I'm always thinking of them.”_ Natalya finished off the second chorus while her hand was still tight in grip around the microphone, _“And I wonder when they'll go to sleep.”_ While both Mei and Florentyna played into the chorus transition, she spoke in a normal tone of voice, “No, really, they’re freaking annoying.” She spoke, resulting in laughter and clapping to come from the audience while she simply shrugged. She was being sarcastic, and the audience loved it.

Both of them once again jumped into the chorus in unison, singing loud and clear to the audience. Some audience members were dancing, some were attempting to sing along, and then there was the few in the audience who had been recording the sight of the fact that not only a talented magical being was performing, but she was performing with the Princess of the magic dimension, nonetheless, _“Find a way - I will too, In a song for me to sing out. Rock out and let it echo. With the birds, I'll sing out..”_

 _“No matter how long, I'll exist here!”_ The two had shouted into their microphones, the hype and adrenaline beginning to pick-up with the both of them. Even Natalya, who was starting to feel a bit more looser the more she sang with Mei, found herself singing along to the song with a bit of passion to it. That was exactly what Mei wanted and could see right away from the magic that radiated from her, _“Within all the people who pass through. On this stage enclosed in the darkness, I sing my poem of hope right now! Even you must also be tired, I want to send this to that back of yours. From within the pitch darkness.”_ The lyrics were very fast in pace to match up, but the fact that Natalya had been handling it well was enough proof for both Mei and Florentyna that they knew this was a good idea after all.

And so, the two finished the song with a powerful phrase of lyrics, _“The song of light that gleams with hope…! Yes, that song…!”_

The microphone was lowered by Natalya while she backed away from the center of the stage, giving it to Mei seeing that she knew that this was the solo-guitar part that would lead to the end. Mei had strummed her fingers along with the guitar while Florentyna had continued to play fast keys on the keyboard. It was fast at first after the adrenaline from the lyrics they had sung, but eventually, it began to cool down into a slower beat.

The song ending off with a final strum from Mei, followed by one piano keynote from Florentyna.

A loud explosion had ensued by the end of the song, releasing what looked to be confetti filling being shot out of small cannons at the side of the stage. Loud cheering could be heard from the audience as the confetti filled the area, and even managed to cover a good amount of the stage while the three girls who had just performed together were slowly beginning to calm down.

Small panting could be heard from Natalya while she clutched onto her chest, not even believing that she did that. She never thought she could be the type of person to go on a stage and sing in front of everyone… The fact that it was so spontaneous and sudden, she was pissed at Mei and Florentyna…

…but damn, it was the first time she’s had fun in probably years.

Mei and Florentyna had run to the blonde standing there and pulled her into a tight hug. Not just any hug, but a group hug while the confetti continued to fall from the sky. People were clapping, cheering - and happy.

Mei had finally managed to convince her father through her music that she could become an idol.

Florentyna had gotten the chance to show some of her talents from learning piano for years, all while helping her friends…

…and for the first time, Natalya got to have some fun with friends.

It was a memorable night that no one would ever forget.

* * *

Far away from the University of Heroics and Bravery, the woods that surrounded it had been absolutely silent. Creatures were fast asleep, with only the sounds of crickets chirping through the air. It was peaceful, while under the moonlight, the lakes around glistened.

A beautiful evening it was in the magic dimension. However, in front of one of those lakes, what looked to be a bright light had taken shape into the form of a human. Stepping out of the light, the human had stood there with a hood over its head, looking up towards the night sky.

ll it took was a few seconds, but the human knew where they were. On their body, the cloak they wore protected their body from anyone who may have been in the area that could’ve seen them teleport. The person looked around for a moment, before glancing up and seeing what seemed to be flashing lights and fireworks being heard from ahead.

The University of Heroics and Bravery…

…They had heard so much about it but never had gotten the chance to see it with its own two eyes.

The person looked down at its side, where a brown bag had been resting against their thigh. With one hand, they had reached over to it and opened it to grab something, pulling out what looked to be a photograph.

It hadn’t been any ordinary photograph.

A photograph where six fairies had been all together, posing in a battle that had taken place earlier that year. In the middle, two figures that they had known very well were right in the middle. A man who had been wearing what looked to be battle attire with his arm around the blonde fairy, who had been smiling after a successful battle had come to an end.

“The spell worked…” The person muttered under their breath before glancing down at their bag. The light from the moonlight resulted in an object to shine in the bag before they had looked up once again at the bright lights that had come from UHB’s concert.

“…I promise…” The hood was lowered to reveal a girl. Not just any ordinary girl - a girl, who had been roughly around a pre-teen. She smiled at the light before looking down at the image, feeling a sense of excitement building up in her chest at the thought of meeting those whom she had loved very close to her heart.

_“…I’ll succeed in this mission for you both.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back- and what's this, a LONG AF CHAPTER!? Yup! As promised, I worked my butt off to make sure I could get this chapter up today! I didn't want you all to keep waiting, so thank you so much for your patience so far. 
> 
> This chapter was a lot of fun to write. **A LOT** happens. Did I say a lot? I really mean, A LOT. There were three different stories all taking place at the same time. More about Mei's backstory, another Codex being found, and more about Alfred's Kingdom/Family. A lottttt of background information about the characters that'll lead into more stories in the future! 
> 
> Also yes, Alice is back just for this chapter. She's going to be making an appearance here and there through the installments, so be prepared UK fans.
> 
> One of my favorite parts about this chapter is towards the end... This character that was introduced is one that actually will make a presence in this story for NOW, and the next time you'll see her, it'll probably be in the future installments of this story. You'll see why later on in the chapters why I'm EXCITED to talk about her because she is such a HUGE important character to this story. As for who she is... Well, you can make your guesses with the subtle hints I'll be making. But her grand reveal won't be until later on in the story.
> 
> Things are going to get REALLY crazy after this chapter. Let's just say that.
> 
> As for when the next chapter will be released? Please plan for a release on 10/10/2020! (EDIT: Chapter is now up! I am giving it to you guys a day early because I am working this weekend. :) ) I am already jumping straight into writing the next chapter, because this next chapter is going to be really interesting.~ In case I do upload it early, make sure to have your notifications on! c: 
> 
> Until then, see you soon, and thank you for following "The Secret of the Lost Fairy!" <3


	9. The Fairy Puppet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A photograph where six fairies had been all together, posing in a battle that had taken place earlier that year. In the middle, two figures that they had known very well were right in the middle. A man who had been wearing what looked to be battle attire with his arm around the blonde fairy, who had been smiling after a successful battle had come to an end.
> 
> “The spell worked…” The person muttered under their breath before glancing down at their bag. The light from the moonlight resulted in an object to shine in the bag before they had looked up once again at the bright lights that had come from UHB’s concert.
> 
> “…I promise…” The hood was lowered to reveal a girl. Not just any ordinary girl - a girl, who had been roughly around a pre-teen. She smiled at the light before looking down at the image, feeling a sense of excitement building up in her chest at the thought of meeting those whom she had loved very close to her heart.
> 
> “…I’ll succeed in this mission for you both.”

The fall festival was deemed as a success to all throughout the magic dimension. Through the magic web, everyone had been talking about the amazing vendors, booths, activities - and not to mention, the wonderful concert that had performances by fairies from Lenfia College.

Mei’s name had been plastered with hundreds of pictures blowing up online about her music. Her songs, her behavior on stage - everyone was supportive of it. Many had asked about her next concert or next song, which she didn’t have a response to seeing the thousands of messages she had received.

For now, she prioritized her evening as a time to spend with friends.

The fairies and heroes had spent the entire evening together, doing different activities such as catching fish or mini-games where you would have to land the ball inside a bottle for a prize. There were also water gun games, where the first one sprays the other with water would win a prize. Some games, even Natalya and Alfred had gone against each other for fun.

When it comes to the strength related ones, while Natalya didn’t end up winning most compared to Alfred who was a full-blown soon to be hero, he did end up giving her the prizes after each win with a bow, “For you, my Princess~” He would tease while holding out what looked to be a stuffed bear.

The fun part began though when vendors had opened up the bars to students and guests. The heads of UHB were not holding back from making sure the entire experience was fun for all guests. It was an evening for not just guests, but for all students to have fun with friends. Other games ensued in between drinks against one another - heroes versus fairies.

Elizabeta and Gilbert at one point found themselves going against each other at a mind memorization game, where its objective was to memorize the pattern of a cube and choose it in the correct order.

Another game had been where Tatyana and Florentyna had gone against each other, this being game that involved an egg and a cup. The cup covered the egg, while the two girls would place their hands on top of it while raising it up and down. The first girl to pull back the cup and get the other to smash their hand into the egg, would win.

Tatyana ended up taking that title as the winner for the night while shrieks ensued from Florentyna at the egg coating her fingers, resulting in the group of friends to laugh at that sight.

The thing was that while all things were good…

…all good things eventually came with a cost.

There was a point where the group of friends had been sitting at a table eating some appetizers from one of the vendors. They were all seated in a circle, where they had been chatting amongst themselves. It had been just around midnight. Things were only continuing at the festival, with guests having their fun and enjoying their time.

“I still can’t believe that producer walked right up to you after the show, Mei!” Florentyna couldn’t help but blurt out after finishing what had been her third drink of the night. The glass was placed down while she wrapped around the other; a proud smile on her face, “Are you going to contact him?!”

This had been a reference in terms of after the concert had taken place. A music producer, who had worked directly in the city of Magix, approached Mei in the interest of offering her an audition at his studio. If her audition went well, there was a chance that she could collaborate with the studio to release an album or single in her name.

Mei laughed to herself in embarrassment while rubbing her neck, “I dunno!” She began, shrugging while looking at the other, “I’m still shocked about it. I was joking about maybe someone noticing me at the concert - but it did work!”

“You’d be crazy not to take it,” Elizabeta waved over the beer she had in hand in front of Mei, giving a serious expression while nodding, “It’s a great opportunity. It could be your startup as a singer, right? That’s your dream?”

“More of being an idol, actually,” Mei giggled, looking at the other with a genuine smile brought to her expression.

In the midst of their conversation, everyone had been participating and actively encouraging Mei to pursue the opportunity she was given. Except for one individual.

While the conversation had taken place, Monika had been occupied on her phone, just checking on her emails to make sure she didn’t forget to do any assignments for the weekend before attending the festival. Even though she planned on going to the festival regardless, she made sure to do all of her homework so she could have fun with her friends without ease.

However, in the midst of reading an email, a notification had popped on the top of her phone.

A notification that she only glanced at and planned to swipe away…

…Until the headline of it had managed to catch her attention.

Her eyes widened while she picked up her phone from the table. The conversation still continued to take place with Mei and the rest of the group, all while her eyes were reading what looked to be a breaking news headline and article. There were pictures, that looked like damage to a certain area of Magix, as well as interviews taking place with those who were impacted by the event.

Monika looked up with horror brought to her expression, absolutely speechless from what she had just read.

Her shocked expression though was noticed right away by Gilbert. He had been drinking his own beer, before looking over at the short-haired blonde with his brow raised, “You okay?”

The question caught her off-guard. Not only her, but everyone who seemed to have been active in the previous conversation was now looking at Monika with confusion. She looked like a deer in headlights… About to faint from something that had happened.

All it took was that question for her to immediately shake her head and place her phone down in the middle of the table, “I— I—“ She stuttered in shock, not necessarily looking at the phone, but right at Natalya specifically for a reason.

“What is it?” Natalya noticed her look. Why was she staring at her like that?

“T-The Codex…” Monika spoke in a low whisper, pushing the phone directly to Natalya she could see it, “Nat, your father’s Codex, it was—“

The Codex? Natalya reached for the phone when this was mentioned and picked it up, looking at what exactly Monika had been reading earlier. Alfred, who had been sitting just beside her and had his arm around her, looked over her shoulder to see what was going on as well.

_BREAKING NEWS: AMBUSH AT PIXIE VILLAGE, NO CASUALTIES, UNKNOWN ITEM STOLEN BY DESCENDANTS OF ANCESTRAL WITCHES_

Unknown item… That was the Codex.

The witches managed to locate the village and steal the codex?!

“W-What?” Natalya placed the phone down and looked at Monika, “That’s impossible. They couldn’t have known where it is, the village is invisible and hidden from the human eye—“

“Natalya, at the end of the article, there’s a confirmation from the Leader of Pixies in a statement,” Monika expressed to the other; her expression full of fear and worry for those who may have still been at the village. She was so glad that the pixies weren’t there now with them while they were drinking, since the last thing she wanted was for them to be there. The pixies were sent off to play around different vendors while the ‘adults’ went off to do things they shouldn’t be seeing, “It’s gone. They have it.”

All colors on Natalya’s expression faded at that point. No… They couldn’t have found it that easily. It had to have been impossible… Because if they did find the Codex, then that meant they were one step closer to opening the Realm of Relix as Radella had told her, Florentyna, and Elizabeta.

And they could all be in grave danger.

The thing was that even after the news was announced, it only took an hour for word to get around the fall festival about the ambush at the Village for pixies. The fun energy at the event suddenly had begun to die down, as members of the magic dimension found themselves beginning to worry about what may come next.

There had been rumors going around that there were objects that were being stolen by the witches… But what are they exactly stealing? First UHB, then the Tower of the Dead… Now the Village for all pixies? What were they exactly stealing?

No one knew, except for the former members of the Company of Light.

The remainder of that evening was not one that no one wanted. The anxiety, the concerns, everything felt like it was in a panic for those who knew what was going on exactly behind the scenes. Natalya could only imagine what was going on at the Ministry of Magix… They probably were up this late trying to put together a statement to be released in the next few hours.

The thing was that this one event from that Friday evening had led to the following changes to take place the second everyone had returned to campus to resume classes on that Monday. Leaving that fall festival with these worries in mind, getting homework done to be prepared for the new week was one that no one knew what to do. After the men had split from the fairies for the weekend, Natalya had spent most of her time in her room at Lenfia trying to figure out what was going on, Florentyna and Elizabeta were in contact with their family’s Kingdoms to let them know they were okay, Mei had gone home with her father just for the weekend to see her family…

…And Monika on the other hand, found that this event at the village for Pixies to continue on her current research with Paladins. She felt like she was close to figuring out an answer to what was going on… Her feeling had been that there was just more than the pieces of the codex to complete the Dark Lord’s mission.

One of those final pieces including Natalya, but she couldn’t say anything just yet.

A decision was made by the heads of all the colleges throughout Magix. Due to the events that had taken place at the Village for pixies, Professors now had students from all three main colleges of the dimension to participate mainly in this outdoor lectures with their main priority being to make sure that students are prepared for future attacks. Dark forces have been surrounding the lands of Magix, for there could be no risk of another attack.

Since the attack on Lenfia College almost a year prior to these dark forces stirring up, and already the Tower of the Dead and UHB were ambushed - there was that probability it could be next.

The feelings of the third Codex being found didn’t seem to set in until that Monday morning during classes. Once a statement had broken from the Ministry of Magix about an important object belonging formerly to King Viktor before his passing was stolen and they were doing everything in their power to find it, that was the icing on the cake for Natalya’s name to get involved when she wasn’t trying to.

Walking throughout the main courtyard of the school in between her classes that morning was enough for Natalya to see the press practically surrounded the gates of Lenfia College, wanting to get input from the Princess herself seeing that it was confirmed the object stolen was once her father’s.

It angered her. Frustrated her that she had to keep her mouth shut on the situation. She wished that Radella had never told her about the codex. Maybe the Headmistress was right - her father had made it a reason to not tell her nor any of her siblings before they were of age. Because in dire situations like these, she wanted help.

But she couldn’t turn to her family at all, because she had no idea where they could be.

There was a moment when she had been walking to her next class from the dining hall where she could see the cameras flashing from behind Lenfia’s gates, right at her. Beside her, Florentyna and Tatyana were standing in shock themselves, since they hadn’t expected that the brief mentioning of her father would result in all media outlets to try and get the girl’s attention.

And it was overwhelming, to say the least.

“Come on, Nat…”Florentyna sighed and reached over to grasp the other’s shoulders, seeing that Natalya had been holding onto a few textbooks for their next class, “Let's get out of here.”

Leaving was probably for the best. The more and more she stood there with nothing to say, the more she found herself becoming more angry and upset at the situation. The thing too was that earlier that morning, she had gone directly to the main office to get a word in with Radella about what was going on with the third Codex…

…it turns out, Radella was gone for the entire _**week**_ having meetings with the Ministry of Magix on the situation.

There was nothing she could do other than be patient until she could get more information.

In the midst of the three girls walking away from the dining hall, another girl had been hidden behind a pillar near the school. The girl who was short, peeked her head around the corner to watch the sight of Florentyna, Tatyana, and Natalya walking toward one of the academic halls to get to their class.

The girl stepped out now once the coast was clear, revealing herself entirely. She couldn’t be seen by the media, because the last thing she needed was for someone to take a photo of her. Her shoulder-lengthen hair had been curled, all while she had been wearing a hat and a pair of glasses. She wore a pink-colored dress with a jacket, as well as a matching pair of brown boots.

Her bright blue eyes examined the three fairies until they were gone. The disguise she had on, for now, would do. All she had to do was disguise herself as a student at Lenfia, and try to confront the fairies.

Specifically the blonde with the long hair who looked extremely angry. It was an angered look that she was very familiar to see.

And so, with her own notebooks, she walked into the academic hall, keeping a distance behind the three girls to watch where they were going.

Watching them walk into what looked like a lecture hall, the girl’s eyes widened. The thing was that she had to keep a close profile to them, especially since in the situation of where she was coming from, she had to make contact as soon as she could with not only them but the Princess herself.

The girl waited for Natalya, Tatyana, and Florentyna to walk into the classroom. A lot of students had walked in just behind them, which was enough of a confirmation for her that it was a lecture and not any training class.

Good. The spell she had cast on herself to disguise her aura and powers to everyone around her would pass in this situation.

Reaching into her bag, she pulled out what looked like a note. It hadn’t been any ordinary, note. This note, which had been listed out details about her, was written and sighed from Headmistress Radella herself. It had consisted of an explanation that she was a transfer student entering Lenfia’s second-year program, as well as a list of her class schedule.

A forged note that would easily pass with the Professor the second she handed it to him.

The Professor of this class, in particular, had been Professor Ayron. He had been standing at his desk, waving at each student who walked into the class with a smile, welcoming them. The thing was that the second this girl had walked in though, he noticed something. A new face he hadn’t recognized at all, thus resulting in him to pause on his welcomings to the other students to approach her, “Well, hello miss. Are you in the right class?”

The girl felt herself freeze on the spot. She wasn’t expecting to get called out so soon, but at least she had the note with her. A nod came from her before she looked up at the Professor, followed by pushing up her classes, “Yessir!” She responded, showing him the yellow slip that was signed by the Headmistress with her class schedule, “This is I’m a transfer. Today’s my first day. This is second-year magical training, yes?”

“Why, indeed it is,” The Professor looked over at the slip to get a confirmation. Right there, her name was listed out with his class section. How odd… He hadn’t seen any record of any new students joining for the fall semester. Perhaps he could bring this up later to her advisor to get a copy of her student profile, “Well then, please go ahead and take a seat, and we can chat after class about catching you up from what you’ve missed the last month and a half.”

“Thank you, Professor,” A small grin formed on the girl’s face before looking around for a seat.

As she walked off, the Professor found himself silent, studying the girl… He swore he had known every fairy by their name and face, but the thing was, this girl was different. It was almost as if her power and aura had been hidden. On his face, he had a large smile curled on his lips while he continued to welcome more of his students into his class.

Yet behind every masked-smile was a true expression.

One that Ayron found himself glaring at the girl in suspicion.

_Who is she?_

To her luck, the girl managed to find what appeared to be a seat in between another student and a familiar blonde who seemed to have been in the middle of applying lipstick. She felt herself tense up approaching the seat and sitting down, followed by placing down her belongings to avoid all eye contact at all costs.

 _Especially_ with the blonde behind her being Florentyna, who had been finished putting her make-up on.

“You look like a clown,” Elizabeta commented from the desk right beside Florentyna. The insult caught Florentyna off-guard, resulting in her turning her head over to her friend with a shocked expression on her face, “Why are you trying to get yourself all dressed up? We’re just in class.”

“Well excuse me, Princess Elizabeta,” Florentyna cleared her throat and made sure she was loud and clear to the other; wanting to get her point across to the other.

Tatyana on the other hand had turned her head away, since she didn’t even want to see what would happen, “Here we go…”

“I’m not applying make-up to make me look cute or pretty, or anything of the sort!” Florentyna corrected the other and waved the lipstick at her, taunting her while Elizabeta remained completely unphased, “I’m only enhancing the—“

_“—natural complexion in order to stand out the features of my face.”_

The new voice caught Florentyna off guard in mid-sentence. She paused for a moment, looking at Tatyana, thinking it was her who had said it. But that was when she realized there was someone new in front of her. A girl she had never seen before in her entire life, looking right at her with what looked to be a very happy and welcoming smile.

“And to cover up the imperfections so that the naked eye doesn’t see it, right?” The girl spoke to the other, which to Florentyna, she was absolutely amazed.

“Yes!” She gasped and placed the lipstick back down, turning to face the girl with hope on her expression. Finally, there was someone in the entire dimension who understood where she was coming from, “Someone who actually knows what I mean! How did you know that?”

The girl let out a small, nervous chuckle while she rubbed her neck nervously. As she did so, she pushed up her glasses; her bright blue eyes staring right into Florentyna’s while the two engaged in conversation, “My auntie told me that one. She does interior designing and does all my make-up for any special event that I have to go to.”

“Well, you should tell your, aunt, was it? That she’s right!” Florentyna leaned forward, absolutely amazed. Throughout her time at Lenfia, she had never met anyone who understood the standards of beauty. Most of her friends would mock and make fun of her about it, but they weren’t saying anything when she put the time aside to help them look pretty for special events. Including Natalya, whenever she went on dates with Alfred, “I’m so glad to know there’s another fairy here at Lenfia that understands where I’m coming from!”

Tatyana looked over at the girl with a smile drawn to her lips, holding out a hand to her, “You’re new here, right? I saw you walk in and speak with the Professor,” She began, being very welcoming since after all, she could only imagine how it felt to be the new student and not knowing anyone, “It’s nice to meet you. My name’s Tatyana,”

Seeing the hand be held out to the girl resulted in a bright smile to form from the blonde. She reached over and took the hand, gently shaking it, “A pleasure to meet you too. My name’s…uh…” She paused for a moment, “Ann—- _Anna_. Yeah, Anna.”

“That’s such a pretty name,” Elizabeta couldn’t help but comment with admiration while resting her chin in the palm of her hands. She waved at the girl after she let go of Tatyana’s hands, “Name’s Elizabeta. Also kind of glad to see I’m not the only newbie here this year too.”

“And I’m Florentyna,” Florentyna finished it off by also shaking the new girl’s hand, “Princess of Solis.”

The girl was absolutely amazed. The fact that they were all so welcoming to her for being ‘new’. Even if she was on a personal mission of her own, that was a secret that they could never find out about. Still, it felt great to be meeting fairies that well… While she admired dearly, knew that they were all-powerful in their own unique ways.

“Everyone knows you’re the Princess of Solis, Florentyna,” Natalya muttered to herself while she had been reading through what seemed to be a textbook. She had been far more disassociated into the conversation, seeing that her mind was entirely in a different place.

The thing was that as the introductions were being made, Anna had noticed right away when Natalya had spoken. Her expression slowly softened the second her eyes had cast over to the woman. She felt herself freeze on the spot, because well, she didn’t even realize that _she_ was that close to them.

 _She_ being someone extremely important to the girl right there.

“Oh, and that’s Natalya,” Florentyna rolled her eyes when the other called her out, “Don’t mind her. She’s just upset about what’s been going on in the news, but it’ll be okay. I promise she’s really sweet.”

What sounded like a snort came from Natalya when this was said. However, the entire time, Anna had been staring at her almost similar to a deer in headlights. Natalya looked up at the girl; closing the textbook she had been reading with a small sigh, “Nice to meet you. Welcome to Lenfia.” The thing was that as she spoke, she couldn’t help but notice that the girl was staring at her for a long time. An uncomfortable long time, in all truths, “Uh, you okay?”

Anna realized what she was doing and quickly nodded in response when being called out, “Y-Yeah, sorry!” She began in a panic, nervously laughing all while leaning back in her seat, “I just — I uh, heard that the Princess of the magic dimension attended Lenfia, so I wasn’t expecting to run into ya so soon,” She expressed, “It’s a great honor to meet you. My entire family admires you a lot.”

The little accent that came from her had the fairies raise a brow. The thought didn’t bother them much, but it was a feature that was interesting, “Your family?” Tatyana was the first to speak out with a smile on her face, “Where are you from?”

“It’s uh… Bit of a long story, actually,” Anna chuckled to herself and gave a small shrug, “My pop is from Eraqion and mom is from Magix, but we live in uh…. Colisto, right now.”

“Ohmygosh!” Florentyna gasped in amazement, “The Princess of Colisto is one of my good friends! And Nat’s boyfriend is actually the Prince of Eraqion, what a coincidence! Maybe he knows your family. Hey Natty - how well does Alfred know Eraqion families?”

“He probably doesn’t,” Anna responded quickly, holding out her hands while chuckling nervously, “My family just moved to Colisto a few years ago—“

“Anna has a point,” Natalya responded and looked over at Florentyna with her arms crossed; now sitting up in her seat, “Alfred doesn’t unless it’s a noble family… But still,” She paused and looked over at the other blonde, “Nice to meet someone from Alfred’s planet that isn’t Gilbert and Monika.”

That was enough of a confirmation for Florentyna while she nodded in understanding. The coincidence though was absolutely amazing in her eyes.

As for ‘Anna', she had been clutching to her chest on the inside and holding her breath, hoping that her answers didn’t give away too many details about her. She knew part of her mission was to befriend them all, but not get into any detail to expose her true self and allow the disguise spell to wear off.

In the midst of their conversation, however, footsteps could be heard coming in the group’s direction. Florentyna had been mainly discussing her experiences in Colisto while Anna nodded, listening but also keeping an eye out for that Professor because anytime a Professor walked over, it was never for a good reason.

The thing was, he wasn’t there for the girls. But more of Natalya, who had been listening to the conversation and on occasion participating in it. The shadow that came from him as he lingered over the blonde caught her attention, resulting in Natalya to speak to the faculty member, “Hello, Professor Ayron.”

The conversation immediately came to a halt the second this was said aloud. The thing was that for Anna, she looked at the Professor with widened eyes when hearing the name. She recognized the name immediately but bit down on her tongue to hold back from saying anything.

“Good morning, Natalya. Good morning, ladies. I’m glad to see you’ve all made a positive welcome for Anna,” The Professor smiled, to which Elizabeta, Tatyana, and Florentyna nodded in confirmation. There was a reason though that he approached Natalya, and so, he turned to face the girl with a smile, “I was meaning to speak with you, Natalya. I understand you stopped by my office last week when I was a meeting, but I did get your note about an evaluation for the progression of your powers… We weren't able to schedule, but would you be interested in conducting that evaluation after class?

That was right. Earlier during the previous week, Natalya had needed to ask a few questions to Ayron about her magic. The mastery class was great since she had been learning a lot of advanced spells that she wouldn’t normally be able to use… But, her concern was just how much of her true power could handle those spells? Could the dragon flame and heart of ice have a bigger impact than it seemed to master-spells?

A nod came from Natalya in agreement. Maybe if she released some of her magical energy after the stress that was filling her mind about the third codex, then it would be enough to get her to feel better until she could talk with the Headmistress, “I’d be happy to, Professor,” She expressed, “I need to practice my magic anyway.”

“Wonderful,” The Professor nodded and gave smiles to each of the girls. Even Anna, who had a smile of her own on her face… But on the inside, she could feel her heart rate beginning to pick up. Even when Ayron had made direct eye contact with her, she felt her anxiety spike, “Let’s chat soon, then.”

As the Professor walked off to the front of the room to prepare the lecture, Anna swallowed for a moment and looked over at Natalya for a moment. Concern had filled her expression, resulting in her to lean in, “Uh, Natalya? Did you say his name was Professor Ayron?”

“…Yeah?” Natalya looked at her, clearly confused about why she was asking, “That’s him.”

A nod of understanding came from Anna, “I see… Just making sure I got the name right,” She responded. The reality was that she wasn’t just trying to confirm a name so she’d know how to address him - but the name Ayron was one she had been warned about. An individual who lingered a dark secret that no one at Lenfia had known about…

…Except for her.

She turned away from facing the girls with a small sigh. At least now she knew who to be wary of, but she did accomplish the first part of her mission, which was to introduce herself and get her face known to the fairies for now.

The class eventually led to its beginning with the Professor clapping his hands and all of the lights going out, followed by what looked to be a projection of a presentation to start. There was no more time to waste, and so, he went straight into the lecture by getting into the detail and expectations of what the next two hours would primarily serve for the girls.

The entire class session, Natalya’s mind had been in a completely different state. Even though she was supposed to be acting calm, all she could think about was what could be taking place at the Ministry of Magix. The Dark Lord was only a step closer to accomplishing his mission, which meant they could all be in danger.

The fact that she was sitting in class with no details and couldn’t do anything about it - it aggravated the girl.

Those next two hours specifically being torturous enough to build-up her magical energy. She was pent up, frustrated, and she couldn’t rant about it to anyone. Not even her friends, seeing that the Codex was a personal issue in regards to her family.

Where was her mother when she needed her the most…

The class session came to an end around early noon. She paid attention as best as she could, but most of the time while she was writing down her notes and asking questions from time to time, she felt herself more and more disassociating with the class. Anna had even made her departure as well, expressing her thanks to the group of four fairies before leaving the classroom to tend to her ‘next class.’

Sure, it was always nice to meet someone new, Natalya thought to herself. But her anger was still there. This was how it had been in her earlier classes as well. No paying attention - just stressed and frustrated like how that entire weekend had gone.

At least she had Alfred to handle her when he would contact her during the weekend to check up on how she was doing. Now, he wasn’t there, so she was there to keep it all to herself while holding back from exploding.

The thing was that when it came to holding in your true feelings and thoughts, eventually, it would have to be released. Especially if it was being held deep on the inside. The bigger and bigger it got, the more she found herself snappy.

And her emotions were shown thoroughly in front of the Professor after that class session came to an end and she had stepped outside to one of the training fields of Lenfia. After transforming into her true fairy form, Natalya had already flown up into the air; her eyes glowing of power and anger formed on her expression. She had her hands up in the air while a magical orb formed in the palms of her hands.

Below her, Professor Ayron had been holding onto a clipboard and stopwatch to time and examine what exactly she could do under two minutes to him, “And begin, Natalya,” He called out to her, keeping his distance from the fairy while the orb grew more and more.

The clashes of what sounded like boulders exploding could be heard within seconds Natalya was given the go-ahead. The magical orb that had formed in her hands immediately was thrown against the nearest bolder she could find on the training field. It had shattered upon impact from power, resulting in Ayron feeling taken aback at how powerful the attack was.

As she flew around the area, Natalya blast magic at any boulder she saw. Her face was boiling in anger, and with just the amount of power she radiated, it could be dangerous for any creature to be around her.

That was when the Professor did take notice of the expression on her face. This wasn’t attacks being made out of training and evaluation purposes… They were attacks being made out of anger and frustration. When lashing out magic such as the kind she was doing right now, it was extremely dangerous.

It was out of impulse. Anger tainted the mind from thinking, and thus, leading to chaotic magic to take over a magical being’s mind. That was exactly what had been happening with Natalya, which resulted in him at one point to interrupt, _“Natalya.”_ He spoke out since now it had gotten to the point where he didn’t want her to accidentally hurt herself from blowing off steam, “Pause. We’re only thirty seconds into the evaluation, and now you’ve got me greatly concerned.”

The words of her Professor rang in her ears as she stood there in midair. Her hands were engulfed in bright flames while she glared down at the Professor; full of magic as the anger grew more and more to her expression. She was expecting a better reason as to why he had stopped her from her attacks, but it was at this point, the Professor wanted to hear from her directly.

“I understand if you’re angry about something,” Professor Ayron lowered the clipboard and looked at the girl with shock drawn to her expression, “But if you want to release your anger, you need to focus your energy more into your attacks because you’ll drain yourself out of magical energy.”

As this was explained to her, a small sigh came from the woman. Her hands were in fists now while she could feel herself trembling in anger. She was way too upset to be doing an exercise… Let alone, an evaluation when it was mostly towards practicing for finals, that would be coming in just a matter of weeks.

“I’m sorry about my behavior, Professor.” The fairy spoke for a moment with her hands grabbing onto her curled hair on her head; staring at him with her face remaining to burn red in anger, “But I _can’t_ help it. We lost the third piece of something that belonged to my father to those witches, which I wasn’t supposed to know until years later, but the Headmistress told me and now I just have to sit back until she returns to get some answers! It also isn’t a good feeling to wake up to see the press practically plastered against the gates of Lenfia.”

The explanation that was given to the girl slowly made to make sense to the man. Now he understood where she was coming from. A small sigh came from Ayron before the clipboard and the stopwatch had vanished in his hands through magic. He kept his distance from the girl still, since she was almost similar to a ticking time bomb.

He knew very well about what the Codex was. Alas, he kept his mouth closed and focused his priority on gaining her trust, “I understand your sadness, Natalya,” He expressed in condolences, “I would be upset if a treasure that belonged to my family was taken too - but please know that none of this your fault. You didn’t know.”

“I. Don’t. Care. About. Me.” Natalya had snapped in a cursing tone to the administrator. While she never would try to talk down on a higher-up, she was absolutely livid. Something such as this was a big deal to her, seeing that she had failed at her duty of the Princess and remaining survivor of the royal family. Magic had formed in her hands while she stood there and soon she was in the air. She had brought her hands up; a large orb of bright light forming in her palms before she had swung her hands down and sent it in the direction of a boulder that already had seen the last of its time. It was at that point it was practically dust, but she kept going, “And I should be able to dissolve any remainder of this damn boulder down!”

By the time she had lowered, her Professor simply rose a brow seeing her reddened face and frustrated state. Natalya felt terrible for revealing her true self to an instructor, but how could she focus on this practice evaluation? Maybe she wasted his time… After all, all she was doing was taking out her anger. Yet for some reason, her Professor stayed to monitor her in case she hurt herself.

“You’re attacking out of anger,” Professor Ayron began once more, motioning over to the rock that could be considered sand at that point. Even after a moment, he couldn’t help but approach where the bolder once was; allowing his fingers to wipe up any remaining trace of what was left.

Yes, she was very well aware that she was attacking out of anger. If she were back on Earth, she would’ve been screaming her mind out of the window to the point where her siblings would have to lock her in her own room. But as a fairy with powerful magic, she had recently discovered that her new outlet of taking out her anger was using her magic.

She lowered herself to the ground and let herself fall to her knees. This was where her Professor had noticed her state and approached her in case she needed assistance, but all she did in response was hold out a hand to stop him. He backed away again, “I’m just… Frustrated. I feel like my powers are getting weaker… And it just, makes me angry. I don’t get it. Why is it that when something bad happens, it always ties back to me? And at the _last_ second too when I don’t know?”

“Well, first of all, if you keep using your magic for negative energy, it’s going to drain your powers. You need to rest, Natalya,” This was where she had noticed her Professor holding out a hand to help her up. A sigh was given by the girl as she took it; slowly standing up from her place before she crossed her arms, “Even if your magic is the most powerful in the entire magic dimension, the dragon flame and heart of ice also have their limits too. You mustn’t do that to yourself.” He paused, “Second of all, that is how sneaky witches can be. They plan things so we users of positive magic don’t expect it, and it worked. We just need more awareness to the situation, which now, I’m sure that’s what Headmistress Radella is planning with the Ministry of Magix.”

He was right. While her magic was very powerful, it was something that it could not be tampered with. Natalya was still a training fairy who had yet to control the powerful magic that was bestowed to her at birth from her mother. If she had used it too hard, she couldn’t perhaps trigger the powers as the Princess. And it was a whole different kind of magic when she transformed into the Princess.

A snap of her fingers was given and soon her fairy attire had disappeared. The sparkling garments, boots, arm sleeves, tiara, make-up, curled hair, and wings that were once behind her back had disappeared and she returned to her original attire she wore for the class earlier. Her hair was pulled back halfway, a pair of jeans matched with brown boots, a long-sleeve brown shirt, and a white jacket. Her arms were still crossed now while she turned her head away.

“I don’t know what’s going on, nor what to do… I hear that Lenfia already made changes to security just from this weekend, but a part of me is saying that it’s _not_ enough.” She first expressed while taking in a deep breath. That was right - All she needed was to take in deep breaths to calm herself from what had occurred from before, “Gelinda, Aviana, and Nebula will all come back at some point to steal the last part of my father’s treasure. And I’m sure they’re coming here at some point since I’m here and they see me as their biggest threat.”

“Biggest threat…” Her Professor had said this with a bit of hum to his tone. The girl’s brows rose in a bit of suspicion, since usually when any of her instructors did this, they were usually thinking. It was with a smile that Professor Ayron had placed a hand on her shoulder, wanting to reassure the fairy, “Even as a threat, I have a feeling you have more potential and power than them… Which is why I’m thinking, perhaps this is a good opportunity for you to take the next step in your journey of discovering who you are.”

Her expression softened when she heard this. That’s right… All of this anger and frustration about the Dark Lord with wanting to take over the magic dimension had completely distracted her from the biggest journey she was currently embarking on.

And that was the fact of her self-discovery.

To figure out who she was and what was her purpose of returning to the magic dimension.

The only thing that she had known thus far in her journey were that she was a Princess of the royal family. The youngest daughter of King Viktor and Queen Alyona, who had sent her to Earth to hide her from the ancestral witches to prevent them from stealing the ultimate powers of their dimension; the dragon flame and heart of ice. Her current journey has so far led her to know that somewhere in the dimension a portion of her family was alive. Two siblings based on the family tree Ayron had shown her a few weeks prior. She wasn’t an only child.

She had to figure out why the chaos on her home planet occurred and most importantly, learn how to control her powers as the princess so when her day of battle came against the dark creatures who attempted to destroy her family - she would be ready.

A nod of agreement came from her. Maybe if she had the chance to learn more about her family, then she’d be able to calm down a bit.

And thus, the walk back to the campus began. The majority of the time Natalya found herself silent with her arms crossed and looking down. While she was looking forward to participating in another exercise to learn more about herself, a wrong feeling kept coming to her mind about the whole Codex situation. Her Professor on the other hand, simply tried to reassure the girl from her worries.

“Don’t worry, Natalya,” He explained while walking through the back entrance of the university so none of the press would see them, which had automatically opened to the two once they had presented their identification cards to the guard that had been sitting in a booth beside it. Lenfia really hadn’t been joking about the security - it was very uptight now, “If it’s a prized possession of your father’s, it has to be hidden well. He was a smart man I remember before his passing - all of the members of the Company of Light. It should be okay.”

But if it was really okay, how come the first three Codexes were found that easily? Hearing those words didn’t make Natalya feel better at all. If anything, she was beginning to question her father’s methods of hiding things from dark beings. For her, she was glad that she had no idea where the last Codex was. It was her father’s hidden secret that he only kept with the former members of the Company of Light, and it shall remain a secret between all of them.

The sound of a bell could be heard coming at their direction the second they had crossed the entrance into the school. Upon glancing up, a familiar creature with light brown hair, a pink bow to her head, and a white outfit along with beautiful wings had flown in the direction of Natalya’s specifically. She recognized the creature immediately and held out her hands for it to land there.

“ _Natalya_!” Homura, who had jumped from her palms to the fairy’s cheek to nuzzle it, “I’m so glad to see you! Did you have a good class?”

“Yes, I did. Thank you for asking, Homura.” Natalya had responded with a small sigh to her tone. She didn’t want her pixie to know of her stressed state, though of course, it wasn’t hard for the creature to pick up just sensing the aura the fairy presented.

Despite the brief moment between the two beings, her Professor only continued with the explanation he was giving her on the next exercise that he believed that she was ready for, “Let’s focus on what’s really important right now rather than your father. While it is important, your powers after today’s session show that you’re ready for this next big step,” He explained, which immediately caught the Pixie’s attention who was tilting her head in curiosity. Uh oh, this wasn’t good since Natalya knew that Homura had the tendency to… Well, pay attention to detail very well, “I’d like to do an exercise to get in touch with your past if you don’t mind.”

This resulted in the Pixie that was once sitting on her shoulder to fly right in front of Natalya. By the look on Homura’s face, she seemed to be pouting, which resulted in a sigh to come from Natalya since she knew exactly where this was going.

“You promised Florentyna after class that you’d help her study this afternoon, Natalya!” Homura had blurted out with her arms crossed and cheeks puffed out. The one thing about Pixies was that they were very loyal and honestly, the nicest creatures on the entire dimension. Not even fairies could be as nice as the pixies were. In this case, Homura seemed to be looking out for a friend of her bonded fairy’s, “You know how stressed she is over the midterm you have next week!”

Ah yes, a midterm that she completely forgot about for also being stressed out and angry from the whole codex-stealing situation.

Even while the pixie was lecturing the girl, Natalya found herself reach over to pat the pixie’s head which got her to silence. All she needed to do was reassure her pixie that everything would be alright. There was no need to worry and she hoped that the message of such could get across.

“I’m not busy tonight, Homura. I’m sure that Florentyna will be happy to post-pone studying for tonight, but right now this is something important. Please understand,” She expressed before turning her head to her Professor. He mentioned an exercise… Was it the one she had been thinking about? He hinted about an exercise a few weeks ago to train her powers, but she never got the chance to inquire about it. Only the name. “Is this the Magical Regression exercise? The one that’ll make my powers stronger?”

“Indeed it is,” The Professor had answered the girl’s question when asked, “We mustn’t waste time, then. If you have other priorities to tend to, then it would be best to get the exercise done so you can tend to the rest of your plans.”

At least the man was willing to accommodate her other plans while incorporating the exercise. The pout still existed on Homura’s face while she flew in place, which was where Natalya leaned over to place a kiss against her cheek to reassure her, “Tell Florentyna I’ll be expecting her with the notes from this morning’s lecture and our textbook tonight when I see her, okay? And with you being patient with me too, we can order take-out. Will that suffice?”

The Pixie’s eyes widened at the mentioning of ordering food for the evening, which to any magical creature, it was very exciting. For Natalya, she never understood why, but she wasn’t the kind to judge, “Can we get pizza?”

“…Yes, we can get pizza.” Were the last words that came from Natalya before excitement filled the Pixie’s face, and soon she was flying off in the direction of where her dorm was.

One less thing to worry about, she thought to herself. While her bonded pixie would take care of Florentyna, she would do the exercise, strengthen her powers, and return to do a studying session and then plan on ordering food. The perfect way to end a day for a college student.

The walk into one of the academic buildings only continued onwards for Natalya and her Professor. As for where the exercise would be taking place, the Professor had brought her into his office where a couch had been set up beside his desk. All he had done was hold out his hands to form a pillow so she could rest her head while she laid there. His explanation of the exercise was that it was one where she would be reaching deep into her heart with the memories she’s gained throughout the past year from her dreams.

The ultimate goal of this exercise in her journey was to get a sign. Some sort of sign of what her purpose was as the princess and the next step she had to do in order to learn more about her home planet and family.

“For this exercise, the goal here is to try and reach out to your birth parents,” He had explained, though for some reason he had been standing beside the door they had walked in. Natalya had noticed this and rose a brow while laying on the couch, though she didn’t question it at first, “I understand that your father passed away, your mother is lost somewhere and siblings are lost, but their spirits are very well alive. I’m sure that if you can form some sort of connection with them and your siblings, you could send them a message that you are alive and need help on trying to find them.”

Connecting with her family’s spirits… If she were told that she was doing this kind of exercise on Earth, she’d be laughing or heavily disturbed. But with magic, anything was practically possible. A slow nod was given by her in agreement to what she had to do, though before she had laid back down, her professor stopped her.

“Though before we begin… I need to tell _them_ something.” The way his face was turned was nowhere near in the direction of where Natalya was. Instead, it had been facing the door, which definitely caught the girl’s attention since now she was confused.

“…Tell, who?” She began.

That question of hers was immediately answered when the Professor had opened the door. All that had happened next was the sounds of screaming being heard outside the door. One by one, a familiar group of girls had been standing right outside the door and topped to the ground. In their hands, they seemed to have been holding onto empty cups, which Natalya’s eyes widened in absolute shock when she recognized all of the faces.

A loud slap to the forehead could be heard from the fairy who sat on the couch now. Natalya couldn’t believe it. She knew this would happen the second her bonded pixie had found out that she was going to be doing an exercise with Professor Ayron. Pixies talked, and Homura loved to talk whenever she could, “You idiots.”

“Hey Natty-!” A familiar blonde had stood up from the ground, attempting to hide the glass that she had been holding onto. And of course, the group was going with the method that Natalya had taught them with eavesdropping… Since Natalya had considered herself the master of eavesdropping, she had taught them the trick of using a glass against a door to hear what was going on in the other room.

“We uh, wanted to ask about that studying session!” Tatyana had clasped her hands together with her famous gentle smile on her face. It was at this point that she had reached over to the familiar blonde, covering her mouth to prevent her from saying anything else, “We didn’t want to interrupt so we were waiting outside until we could come in to ask… Right, _Florentyna?_ ”

A nod was given by Florentyna when her mouth was shut by the fairy of nature. Behind them had been the fairy of waves and fairy of music, who were both standing there innocently with their own glasses in hands. Mei turned her head away, avoiding all eye contact while Elizabeta casually smiled innocently at the situation.

Monika was nowhere to be spotted though.

“Greetings, ladies,” The Professor had spoken with a smile, which almost immediately all of the girls had silenced from their nervous laughter.

“We didn’t mean to interrupt, Professor!” Mei had spoken out at first, waving her hands frantically before motioning the rest of the girls out of the room, “We’ll be on our way—“

“—Oh, no.” The girls were soon stopped and frozen in place. The Professor had a smile on his face before his arms were crossed, “I understand you came to check on your friend and I’m sure she’s very appreciative of it. You are welcome to wait outside and listen since this is technically an exercise and you may learn something from listening to the demo. But it is crucial that you remain completely quiet. Understood?”

He was allowing for them to stay… That didn’t seem to oppose the girls at all. Even Natalya, who sat there completely dumbfounded, found herself agreeing to the suggestion. They may as well have a brief learning experience with her being the test subject. The end result was to see if she could hopefully connect with her family’s spirits and strengthen her powers, so to any fairy it was an interesting concept to witness.

And thus, the girls had stepped outside of the hallway where the door was officially shut. Natalya once again resumed back into her laying down position before her professor had approached her and took out what looked like orbs. These orbs were held onto the air, where they stayed in place and began to circle around the girl.

“Are you ready, Natalya?” He had asked, now holding his hands out to the orbs that soon began to glow. A nod was given by Natalya when hearing the question, and soon his hands had glew of power as well.

" _Samano Pholix!”_

* * *

_Pitch black. Everything had immediately fallen into a pitch-black state within seconds of the spell being conducted for the exercise. Natalya who laid on the couch’s eyes immediately went shut and body went limp. While her body was still, her spirit deep within her heart was wide awake, trying to find that connection with her family._

_Slowly, her eyes had opened to reveal herself in the sky. Panic had formed along the girl’s expression upon realizing that she was in midair and thinking that she was about to fall. Though upon taking a glance at her appearance, she had noticed that her entire attire changed. Her wings had been behind her back and it was an indicator that she was in her fairy form._

_“Where the North Wind meets the sea... There's a river... Full of memory... Sleep, my darling safe and sound... For in this river, all is found…"_

_Natalya looked around the foggy setting. The clouds that had been in front of her had been fogging her vision, thus resulting in her to lower herself a bit more from the sky so she could have better visibility. The sounds of a lullaby playing in the background kept distracting her vision as a part of her was tempted to close her eyes and fall asleep at that moment…_

_…But no, she knew that she mustn’t fall asleep._

_The song was a lullaby that her mother would sing to her all the time as an infant. It was the song of the people of Sparx, that told a story of a family that was once lost, would be found again._

_"In her waters deep and true... Lie the answers and a path for you. Dive down deep into her sound... But not too far, or you'll be drowned.”_

_The clouds began to fade and soon Natalya could have a bit more visibility to figure out where she was. By just glancing around and recognizing she was in a city, she swore she knew where she was. The sight of what looked like a small family standing outside the doorstep of a large mansion, she knew where she was._

_On the porch had been her father and siblings. Not her birth family, but her adoptive family that had adopted her as an infant and cared for her ever since. Her eyes widened when recognizing the faces staring up at her, waving and calling out to her to come down to have some tea with them._

_“That’s my family… I’m in Moscow.“ Natalya had managed to choke out in between the music that was playing behind her. Soon, she began to lower herself down. Though the more she flew down, it felt like an eternity to reach them, “Papa! Anya, Dmitri! I’m coming-!” She called out to them in her native tongue of Russian, continuing to push herself more and more down… But nothing. She couldn’t reach them._

_"Yes, she will sing to those who hear... And in her song, all magic flows... But can you brave what you most fear? Can you face what the river knows?”_

_The clouds that had once filled the sky slowly began to transition into its beautiful white color into almost a color similar to darkness. Natalya’s panic only returned while looking around, attempting to fly away from the darkness that began to surround her._

_“What’s going on!?” She couldn’t help but shout out. Her eyes frantically looked for a place where there could be light, but all she could see was the darkness only continuing to surround her._

_A harsh wind had pushed her immediately back from the childhood home she had grown up in. She had tried to control herself and eventually managed to do so with her wings, though she had been in a completely different area than the part of Moscow she knew. A bright light formed just behind her as she stood there shielding her eyes from the darkness, which resulted in her turning around to look at its source._

_“Where the North Wind meets the sea... There's a mother, full of memory…”_

_Her eyes widened at the sight of the familiar faces that belonged to her mother and father. Along with this, she could feel her arms reaching out to them, almost as if she were trying to reach out to them, “Mama - Papa! Can you hear me?” She had called out, before noticing two other figures standing beside them. These two figures had turned out to be a younger girl and boy, who were smiling up at the fairy that flew above them._

_The royal family that came from the glowing light all held their hands out to reveal another glow of light. This had Natalya bring a hand up to her shield her eyes from the brightness. Though when lowering her hands, she had been exposed to a beautiful dragon circling around what looked like a heart made out of ice._

_“Come my darling homeward bound…” A figure of her mother called out to her in the sequence, “When all is lost, then all is found.”_

_Natalya couldn’t help but whisper in a low tone, “The dragon flame and heart of ice…” Though what managed to catch her attention though was the amount of darkness that began to surround it. Soon the dragon had been screaming in her direction, the heart of ice began to shatter and a pained feeling came to her chest._

_A pained, sharp feeling. Sudden darkness, surrounding her entirely… It was choking her as if trying to drown the positive energy that radiated from her heart in the sequence._

_“Darkness, descend upon Natasha Braginskaya, Princess of the Dragon Flame and Heart of Ice so all light is perished from her heart, and make her the slave of the Dark Lord!”_

_“NO!”_

* * *

A loud gasp could be heard from the girl who was once unconscious. Sweat had drenched her face and almost immediately, she found herself sitting up and holding onto her head. She had been trembling violently at the nightmare that had taken place in her head while her protests continued.

“NO, STAY AWAY!” She let out in a trembling tone, shrieking while she sat up. Her nails practically digging into her head at the thoughts of darkness that was mentioned beginning to fill her mind, “…Stay away, don’t hurt me… please…”

The feeling of a hand being placed on her shoulder got her to immediately turn her head to its source. All she could see now was the sight of her Professor with his eyes widened in surprise at her state, before revealing in his other hand what looked like a glass of water and a rag for her to wipe the sweat off her face.

This wasn’t the nightmare… No, the exercise was over. She was back at Lenfia. She was in Professor Ayron’s office, conducting an experiment in order to help her powers become stronger after the stress she had faced during the day earlier.

A shakey hand had reached over to grab onto the glass that was being held out to her. Just waking up, she swore she never felt this thirsty before. She quickly gulped down the contents of the glass before taking in a deep breath to soothe her pants, “How long have I been out?”

“…Just about an hour, Natalya,” Her Professor had responded, followed by handing her the rag for her to wipe her face, “Are you feeling alright? Should I escort you to the infirmary?"

A small shake to her head was an indicator that she would be alright. One could say that she was startled from a nightmare and all she needed was a moment to calm down. To say the least, having a glass of water and being able to wipe away the stress that had produced from the session was a good way to help her mind refocus.

“No… I’ll be alright. My head is throbbing though…” She took in a deep breath, knowing that if she wanted to ease her pain, all she had to do was let some air to go into her mind. She closed her eyes now, trying to remember what had happened during the experience, “…Everything’s so fuzzy in my head, but I do remember seeing my family.”

That’s right… She was able to see her family up-close for the first time. There weren’t any images she had to reference to - It was really them. Her father, mother, older siblings… They were all there trying to reach out to her, but whatever nightmare had filled her mind had seemed to block her from getting in contact with them.

Could this darkness be a result of the stress and negative energy she was producing earlier from her anger and hatred at the witches?

“That’s wonderful to hear, Natalya,” A hand was held out. This was where she had taken it, slowly being lifted up from the couch so she could take a stand, “I would say that this exercise is a success. Though since you woke up in such a stressed state, I would advise that you go rest for the remainder of the day. Tomorrow we can analyze your powers in class to see if there’s been any improvement.”

That was a fair statement that she could do. She felt exhausted after the exercise, and she knew that she had to build-up a little bit of energy before she went to go help Florentyna study for her exam. Rest was the perfect cure for any exhausted fairy, so when being suggested to do so, she happily agreed.

Walking back to her dorm, she could feel the exhaustion creep up to her. While she was happy about the results of seeing her loved ones, why did all of sudden darkness seem to surround her? She was deep within her heart, so perhaps darkness had formed during her time of taking out her anger… And it didn’t seem to give her positive results, since her family looked very concerned for her through their spirits.

A sigh came from her when she eventually made it back to her dorm. Tomorrow she was having another class with Professor Ayron, where she would probably be asked again to stay behind so he could analyze her powers after the brief exercise that was conducted. She still needed to see the Headmistress, which was a whole different issue of itself that she had to handle.

All she wanted to do was lay in her bed, take a nap, and relax for that afternoon…

…Which unfortunately for her, didn’t seem to be happening to see that her friends had been waiting right in the living room of their dormitory to pester her with questions about spending time with the very handsome Professor in his office.

Alone.

“Fuck you guys, first of all,” Were the first words that came from Natalya as she walked into the room. She settled down in one of the chairs and reached out for a blanket that was tossed onto one of the chairs; bringing it up to wrap her body around while a small yawn came from her lips, “You know I was busy and to have the audacity to eavesdrop?”

“Hot professor, hot girl,” Elizabeta had been in the middle of eating what looked like a small bowl of cut-up fruits. She plopped herself right beside the exhausted girl and wrapped an arm around her, holding out a spoonful of strawberries. This had Natalya turn her head away, indicating that she didn’t want to eat… But naturally, the spoon was shoved into her mouth since the girls could tell that their friend was exhausted, “We had to make sure you didn’t do anything naughty now.”

“You guys are disgusting.” An eye roll was given by Natalya once again. Of course, they jumped to the conclusion of her doing something fishy with their handsome professor, which wasn’t the situation at all, “Listen, he’s just helping me with developing my powers. You all know that I love Alfred - it pisses me off you’d think like that.”

“I wish I could spend time with a hot Professor,” Florentyna let out a small yawn while she sat down in the lounge chair where originally the blanket that Natalya held in hand rested on. As she did so, she glanced over at the tired girl with her brows risen in slight interest, “So, did you accomplish anything during the exercise?”

That was right. Technically, they were all fairies in training and they weren’t able to watch the exercise at all take place. They were only able to listen to it from outside the door, which wasn’t enough detail for them to understand what kind of exercise that was being conducted. While Natalya didn’t know exactly what her professor had done after he had put the spell on her, she did remember her visions.

She began her story of the journey by explaining the entire time she was in her heart, she could hear the lullaby her mother would sing to her all the time as an infant. Along with this, she had appeared in Moscow just above her childhood home, where her adoptive family had been waiting below her to have a cup of tea. Then all of a sudden, a bright light had come from behind her and revealed to her her family reaching out and calling out to her… Around them, the powers of the dragon flame and heart of ice protected them, almost as if it were waiting for them to join them.

For the part of the darkness… The last thing that Natalya wanted was to concern her friends, so she decided to avoid mentioning it at all costs.

“So you saw the Queen and King?” Mei had lowered her earphones, indeed very curious to hear about the royal family in her friend’s dream, “What were they like? Are they like the images we see all the time?”

“Mhm, spitting images.” A yawn was given by Natalya as she sat there. The more and more she relaxed, she could feel herself becoming tired. Going back to sleep was the last thing she wanted due to concern that those negative thoughts of energy would return. If she could lay in bed and distract herself from watching a movie or reading a book, she could regain a bit of energy, “Listen… I’m sorry to cut the conversation short, but can I tell you guys a little later? My head has been killing me since the end of the exercise, so I think I’m going to rest in my room.”

It was almost immediately that the group of girls had completely silenced. By the sight of their friend in such an exhausted state, they hadn’t even realized that the reason she came back to the dorm and wrapped her body in blankets was that she needed that rest. Tatyana was the first to approach Natalya with a smile; placing her hand on her friend’s shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze.

“Don’t worry, Natalya. When you wake up, I can brew us some tea to help regain some of your energy,” She spoke in her soothing tone, simply looking out for her friend. The group of girls who stood around her remained silent, though eventually they found themselves mutually agreeing that it would be best to let her rest, “Come on ladies,” Tatyana only continued after handing Natalya over a pillow so she could rest her head, “There’s a new potion I’ve been working on and I’m sure you’d love to see it.”

“Homura mentioned about ordering food later, right?” Florentyna stood up from her seat and reached over to pat her friend’s head. There was one thing that she liked about Tatyana, and that she seemed to be the reasonable one in their little group of friends, “I’ll cover it. Just the usual?” She had asked, referring to Natalya’s preference when it came to ordering pizza. With a nod to confirm the statement, Florentyna found herself leaning over to kiss her friend’s head, “On it, girlfriend.” She gave her a wink, before now proceeding with walking out of the room to her own chambers of the dormitory.

A bit of relief filled Natalya as she settled on the couch. A part of her felt like she had to go to sleep… Then there was a part of her that seemed to struggle with wanting to rest. Since she had left her Professor’s office and wandered back to her dorm, she found herself tired yet with more energy built-up inside her. Was this perhaps the result of the exercise? Professor Ayron had mentioned that her powers would feel a bit stronger, so this exhaustion could just be part of it.

Despite all of the girls leaving the room though, her bonded pixie stayed by her side. Homura could tell simply by the behavior of her bonded fairy that she wasn’t well. She flew over to her side and settled on her shoulder, which startled Natalya at first. Though when recognizing who the little creature was, a bit of relief formed on her expression, “Natalya, are you okay? Something happened, didn’t it?”

The expression that was on Natalya’s face slowly began to soften. Well, she couldn’t really hide her emotions from someone like Homura. That would make sense that the pixie could easily tell that the fairy wasn’t in a good state. Though, she gave kudos to the little creature, since she was indeed right.

The entire time the exercise had been conducted, she swore she had been hearing someone saying something about darkness taking control of her heart… Then there had been the portion of the black smoke in her dream filling around her and preventing her from connecting with her family’s spirits. Since then, she felt a feeling of dark power surrounding her, which was making her into such an exhausted state… She didn’t even know how to describe it.

“Ever since I left that exercise…” Natalya began with a bit of thought to her tone and let out a yawn, “I feel like… There’s this negative energy wrapping around me, trying to choke me and take away my consciousness.” It was an odd way to indeed describe it, but she didn’t know exactly how to word it to the creature, “I… Don’t know. I just, feel very strange.”

Immediate concern formed on the Pixie’s face. Earlier when Natalya had walked through the gates with her Professor, Homura was startled to see the fairy with someone who… Radiated such a negative kind of energy to her. She didn’t know why, but a part of her didn’t like the fact of how close the Professor seemed to be getting close to the fairy in the first place.

It was almost as if he had been using her power to conduct his own little experiments, though referring to them as exercises. As for Natalya? She saw it as an opportunity to grow and develop in her journey of trying to figure out who she was - Not as a lab rat.

“Natalya… There’s something I need to tell you,” Homura began with a whimper to her tone; now resting her cheek against the other’s, “I’m afraid of that Professor. I don’t really like him.”

“How so?” If there was a concern that her Pixie had about the male… It was something she wouldn’t argue with.

“His heart, Natalya…” Homura looked down, almost as if she were upset that she had been telling such a thing to her in the first place. Though one thing that Natalya had always expressed to the pixie was that if something bothered her, then to indeed tell her. That was exactly what she was doing, “…They’re all locked. As the pixie of portals our hearts are supposed to be open and welcoming, but his… Is locked, almost as if he’s hiding something.”

A bit of a shrug was given by the girl. To hear that someone had concerns over a Professor didn’t really surprise her, especially since she had her own experience on earth, “You know, Homura. On Earth, we call teachers who have dark pasts ones with baggage,” She explained and lowered the pixie down, slowly beginning to stand up. As she did so, all of a sudden she found herself stumbling a bit, which caught the creature’s attention, “When I was in high school, there was this big scandal where my mathematics teacher was cheating on his wife with one of the English department teachers… It’s called having baggage, and I feel like every teacher or Professor has some that they wouldn’t want their….” A sudden pain filled her head, “…S-students to know.”

She slowly brought her hand up to her head. Her eyes were closed and all she could feel was a throbbing, rapid pain beginning to flood throughout her mind. Homura had immediately flown up from her spot, immediately going to her bonded fairy to touch her hand to see if she would be alright.

“Natalya, maybe you should sit down,” She had suggested; panic in her eyes out of worry and fear for the other, “Should I call the nurse? You really don’t look well.”

And indeed, she didn’t feel well at all. The hand that was once on her head slowly began to lower, before all of a sudden she found herself staring directly at one of the blank walls in the room. The words from the dream sequence before… All of it began to flood her mind yet again on what she had heard.

_Darkness, descend upon Natasha Braginskaya, Princess of the Dragon Flame and Heart of Ice so all light is perished from her heart, and make her the slave of the Dark Lord!_

“…darkness…” The girl’s face was pale and her voice was monotone.

Dark shadows slowly began to rise from the ground that they stood on and began to surround the girl. Homura’s face had been filled with panic, almost as if she didn’t know what was going on. Natalya’s eyes were closed and soon the darkness had fully wrapped around the girl.

“Natalya? Natalya! Are you okay? What’s going on?” The panicked voice of the pixie could be heard outside of the shadows. Unfortunately, the fairy who was in a trance couldn’t hear a thing.

The clothes that she once wore earlier that day had slowly transitioned her into her fairy attire. She hadn’t even said the enchantment to transform herself into her fairy form - it just had been happening all on its own! No effort of putting magic into it at all!

Her form was different from the usual blue colors and beautiful tiara she had on her head. The top she wore in her fairy attire had been black along with a matching skirt, arm sleeves, and boots. On her chest, the crescent that belonged to her family had been silver, unlike the beautiful gold shade it once was, while the tiara she wore on her head seemed to be a golder color with sharpened ends. Her bust had been pushed up, her hair had become a bit messier than curled in her original fairy form, and purple glitter had been decorated along with her eyes. Behind her, her once beautiful wings had turned into ones of sharp edges.

Natalya opened her eyes and gazed down at the little creature that had been flying around in panic at the sight of her bonded fairy transforming into a completely different creature. The soft violet-blue eyes that she once had suddenly had transitioned into a bright-red shade, which immediately met the pink ones that belonged to Homura who was staring in horror.

“ _I’ve never felt better.”_

* * *

It was during that period when Natalya had been participating in the exercise that she had sent a message to a hero over at the school for men. Alfred had asked her how she was doing and she had responded with doing an exercise for research on her family, so she wouldn’t be able to talk as much during the day. Mainly due to the fact that the exercise would be distracting her and her main thoughts about the missing Codex.

Alfred already knew how she was feeling. After such a long weekend of talking with her on the phone trying to figure out what to do until they could get in contact with Radella, all he could do was be by her side and offer distractions to help her feel better.

And so, that hero decided he would do a little something nice for the Princess who seemed to be in a stressed state after everything that had taken place today. She was a damsel in distress, which meant it was his time to shine.

_“Can’t believe Alfred asked me to bring these for his girlfriend, fuckin’ balls…”_

Gilbert had wandered through the halls of Lenfia College with a bouquet of flowers and a box of chocolates. The stereotypical gift to give to any lover, though in this case, they were accustomed to Natalya’s preferences. Beautiful sunflowers and the chocolates that had the caramel filling were her favorites, so naturally, Alfred wanted to send the treat to let her know that he was thinking about her.

The issue was, that he was just as busy as she was during the day.

_“Please, man?” Alfred had wrapped an arm around the albino’s shoulders, giving his signature pouty face while pressing the subject of bringing the treats to his lover, “She’s stressed and I don’t have time to bring it to her.”_

_“You’re a Prince, with money. Big emphasis on the money part, Alfred.” Gilbert glared at the other and moved his arm off of his shoulder. Followed by this, he glanced down at the bouquet and the chocolates that Alfred managed to get within ten minutes of requesting it, “You can hire people to bring it to her, you know.”_

_A sigh came from Alfred when he heard this. Always bringing the fact back that he was a prince. His arm lowered and he walked over to his closet, only to pull out some boots since he had a class to go to within the next couple of minutes, “Uhm, yeah. I know, but they put the security up at Lenfia because of the witches stealing the third Codex. A random person that I hire ain’t gonna get in. But you, you’re a student here at UHB, and you’ll get in.”_

_“…And?” The albino rolled his eyes, raising a brow since he expected something more. Alfred pushed up his glasses after sliding his boots on._

_“I’ll pay ya three hundred bucks.”_

That was the dealbreaker for him back at UHB.

The red orbs that belonged to the man gazed down at the flowers and chocolates in his hands. And there he was indeed being allowed to enter the school upon showing his student ID and wandering the hallways to where Natalya’s dormitory was. As he walked, he looked around the area and could see female students giggling and staring at him, since it wasn’t a common sight to see a specialist bringing flowers and chocolates to another fairy.

“Three hundred bucks, Gil…” He reminded himself, ignoring the stares that were made in his direction. “Remember, three hundred and you can buy that new virtual reality system…”

The walk itself was just about five minutes after first walking through the gates of the school with his ID. All he had to do was locate the room that had Natalya’s name along with the rest of her roommates on it, and that certainly wasn’t hard to find. When he did, he gave two knocks at the door; not even giving a chance for someone to open the door for him.

“Hey, Nat? It’s Gilbert, I have somethin’ for ya—“ He spoke as he began to take his first steps into the room. In his hands, a small box in the shape of a heart along with what looked like sunflowers seemed to be in his hands. The door was closed behind him after he had entered, which it was then that the woman who stood inside couldn’t help but take notice of the new presence.

The red orbs that had been once a violet-blue shade shot directly at the new presence in the room. Her eyes narrowed, though what kept her distracted over his presence was mainly the task that she had been given in her mind…

… _Find the last Codex_.

“Something for me?” May as well attempt to seem like she wasn’t suspicious… If anything, what Natalya didn’t want was for the other to notice her sudden change in appearance. There was no reason for her to be transformed as a fairy, “What is it?”

Unfortunately, the sight of her new appearance was definitely something he had picked up on. Gilbert stood there and held out the said items to the girl before continuing onward with his explanation, “Well, Alfred said he wanted me to bring this to you… He was kind of busy, so me being me a good friend, I figured why not help him.” No need to mention the aspect of money. She’d never find out.

“I thought you were more the _lazier_ type,” A bit of a snarl could be heard from Natalya when the items were exchanged. The flowers and chocolates were placed down onto a nearby table before her eyes shot once again at his direction. What looked like a bit of a crazed expression could be seen on her face, “You never liked helping Alfred with shit. And for the first time, _you,_ the laziest hero of UHB, are helping my boyfriend with something?”

 _“What?”_ A bit of a nervous chuckle came from Gilbert at this statement. Sheesh, he knew that Natalya was a fairy that had some attitude… But did he show up at a bad time? “Listen, maybe I should le—“

The suggestion that he was about to make seemed to be a bad one indeed. With the snap of her fingers, the door that was once closed behind him was immediately locked. With her wings, Natalya had made her way towards the direction of the specialist who seemed surprised at her sudden change of behavior, “Wait a minute… If I’m remembering correctly, didn’t you score the top of your class with researching? Which means you’re a bit of a smartass while being lazy, aren’t you?”

A nervous chuckle yet again came from the nervous albino. Fair enough, Gilbert couldn’t help but think to himself… Yet, why was all of the sudden she interested in what he scored in school, “Well, duh… I guess I don’t mean to brag and all—“

“—Wonderful. You may be able to help me with something then.” Help her with something… That was the polite way to put it at least. What she had been exactly recalling was how students at UHB were scaled in regards to their grades. While Alfred seemed to get the highest scores in combat, his best friend who stood in that room with her had the highest scores in research. This means there may be a chance that he’s researched about the entire magical dimension… Including its top three universities for magic users.

Another snap of her fingers had been made before Gilbert had the chance to ask her what exactly she needed help with. Dark magic flew from the tips of her fingers and seemed to have wrapped the male around in front of her. Within a matter of seconds, he had been flipped upside down, as what looked like coins and other pocket items began to fall out of his pockets due to this, “You can start off with spilling some of that knowledge out of your brain and show me where I can find a map for this damn school.”

“Uhm, Natalya, I know you must be joking around or something…” Joking around… Hell, Gilbert knew that Alfred had his fears with the woman, especially when she was angry… But was this how she behaved? A part of him couldn’t help but feel bad for Alfred if this was the kind of crazy woman he was in love with, “But I’d really like for my feet to be on the ground if ya want me to help you out…”

Natalya’s brow had risen at the request that was given to her. Oh, she could do that easily, “Fair enough. I can do that easily,” A slight grin formed along her lips as she held her hands out at the direction of him. With a bright glow, the shoes that were once on his feet… Had managed to go to his hands. Gilbert stared at the shoes on his feet, beginning to release nervous laughter.

As the scene had been taking place, the fairy’s bonded Pixie had been standing right behind her. Homura’s eyes widened at the sight of Natalya not only tossing what looked like generous gifts from her boyfriend, but the fact that she had taken someone as nice as Gilbert as one of her… Hostages? Well, he didn’t seem trapped… But he seemed to be in a situation where he needed help.

“Natalya, what are you doing?” The Pixie had whimpered out to the fairy as she flew at her direction. Perhaps it wasn’t a good idea to get too close, but at the same time, a bonded pixie had to stay strictly with their fairy… “M-Maybe you should put him down.”

Laughter. Only laughter ensued from Natalya as the crazed expression on her face only continued to grow. This brought a sense of discomfort towards Homura’s direction while Gilbert simply looked horrified at the sight of what he considered the princess of the magical dimension… Now to be seeing someone that did not act like the Natalya he knew.

Yes, the old Natalya could be teasing and easily makes fun of people, but she would _never_ pull stunts like this with friends. Let alone, friends who had affiliations with her boyfriend, which she would take a damn bullet for the man if that were to ever be the case.

“Oh, you want me to drop him?” The laughter had quieted down to a darker tone of chuckling while Natalya held her hands into the air; a bright glow coming to them as the darkness only continued to wrap around the restrained man, “Just like his best friend dropped him to do his dirty work of trying to impress me? If Alfred wanted to impress me, he’d actually come here to see me as a good boyfriend instead of leaving me here all upset. But poor Gilly here had to pick up the dirty work for the Prince as always. Kind of sad. Hmph.”

The two individuals who witnessed Natalya’s behavior could feel their jaws begin to drop. Gilbert, mainly in horror at the words that came from Natalya’s mouth… And Homura, well, to hear just how rude her bonded pixie was towards someone who was so innocent.

The Pixie immediately flew in the direction of the floating upside-down man, to where she bowed in an apologetic manner, “I’m so sorry about this, Gilbert. We’ll get you back to normal soon, I promise.”

“Make it quick,” Gilbert let out a nervous chuckle as his eyes rolled to the back of his head, “I feel like all blood in my body is beginning to travel to my head.”

The more they stood there, the more time that was being wasted. The remainder of finding the Codex immediately began to flood her head again, which resulted in Natalya to groan slightly as she held onto the side of it.

_Find the codex, my Princess. You know where your father hid it, so go get it like a good pet._

Her new master was right. There was no time to be wasted. Therefore, she had proceeded with making her way towards the door with Gilbert simply floating behind her, “You said you’d help me, right? Why don’t you show me where that map is, and then maybe I’ll let you go if you’re nice to me.”

Was he being held hostage by one of the most powerful fairies in the entire magical dimension? At that very moment, Gilbert didn’t even know anymore. All he wanted was to be let go at that point, so long as he would be able to go back to standing normally again. The more he was held upside down and moved along with Natalya, he swore he felt like he was about to throw up.

The three individuals had stepped out of the dormitory that belonged to Natalya. Out of instinct, the door was closed behind them and soon they began to wander throughout the hallways of Lenfia. It was during this time that afternoon classes were being held. Fortunately for Natalya, she had finished her classes for the day, so to get what this unexpected new task out of the way would be an easy piece of cake.

The entire time, Gilbert was silent as he was held what he considered to be a hostage at this point. But to believe that it was someone like Natalya conducting such a thing… It was absolutely hard to believe. The last thing he wanted though was for her to do something crazy like stripping him naked while walking through an all-girls school, so what he decided was to stay quiet at the current situation.

Oh, he could only imagine how Alfred was going to react when he told him _this_ story.

The more he stayed quiet, the more Natalya felt a bit more confident about the task that she was assigned to do unexpectedly. On the inside, what felt like someone screaming for help had tried to interrupt her clouded, dark mind…

_GET OUT OF ME! GET OUT OF ME, DARKNESS! HELP!_

…But alas, she ignored this and continued to allow the darkness to take control of her at that very moment. What she hadn’t been paying attention to closely though, had been the direction she was walking.

Out of pure coincidence, the sound of footsteps could be heard coming in their direction. This resulted in her to haul in place as she glared at the nearby corner of where usually people walk through to access the second year dorms… Someone was coming and she was in a situation where she didn’t know what to do. Already with Homura up her ass asking her questions and Gilbert looking like he was about to pass out on her, this was not the best scenario for her at all.

The worst part about it was as those footsteps became louder, it only revealed the sight of that girl — that girl from the class earlier! Anna! What was she doing in the second year dorms!? She seemed to have been carrying textbooks and a backpack… That must’ve meant she was returning from class to go back to her dorm to either study or rest.

A bad, bad time indeed for her to arrive at the scene.

Gilbert immediately noticed their presence and shot his eyes open. Either his internal prayers were answered or it was just a really good coincidence that Natalya had messed up and they were caught then and there, “Hey, you! You walking, I need help!”

‘Anna’, who had been occupied thinking to herself, heard the familiar voice. She looked up from the ground as she was walking, only to feel her eyes widen at the sight of what she was seeing. That was — That was Natalya! And Gilbert. She immediately recognized the two and approached over, speaking, “Un— Gilbert?” Why was he upside down in the air… With no shoes on his feet, yet on his hands?

How could have the man gotten himself in a situation like this one? No, actually, she knew how. It was always expected from Gilbert, but it was a weird situation to Anna, nonetheless. A situation that she had been warned about, but didn’t know what to do.

“…How do you know my name?” Gilbert stared at the girl since for one thing, he had never seen her in his entire life. ‘Anna’ froze up, opening her mouth to speak out an excuse, but the male was quicker, “You know what, that doesn’t matter! It’s Natalya, she’s-!”

What sounded like an annoyed grunt came from Gilbert behind him, immediately interrupting him mid-sentence. All it took was for ‘Anna’ to glance behind him to see the sight of her peer… However, not in her normal appearance.

Instead, her eyes had become a red shade, her hair had grown a little bit longer and the sight of her expression…

…And it looked as though she hadn’t slept in _years_.

Being caught unexpectedly though? That was the last thing Natalya needed for herself right now. Unnecessary drawn attention to keep her distracted from the main task.

“ _Levitating_?” Were the first words that broke from Natalya while ‘Anna’ stood in front of her and stared in her direction with confusion on her face. Instead of addressing why Gilbert was in midair, she simply snapped her fingers and he dropped to the ground, “No he’s not.”

A loud grunt could be heard from Gilbert when he had landed straight to the ground. Immediately out of instinct, ‘Anna’ had immediately run over to his direction to see if he was okay. The only response that came from Natalya though, had been simple laughter at the sight of the girl panicking over him getting hurt.

Pathetic.

Despite Gilbert reassuring the new girl that he was alright, Homura still stood behind Natalya. She knew that something hadn’t been right, therefore resulting in the pixie to immediately fly over to the girl who stood there, “Something’s wrong with Natalya!” Homura had begun in a frantic, panicked tone, “She's not herself!"

“ _OhMygodHomuraYou’reHereToo_ ,” The girl let out in what sounded to be rapid Russian to herself out of panic, not expecting to be greeted to the sight of the Pixie. She fixed her composure and spoke in English to distract what she had just said in a different language, “What happened?”

Homura tilted her head upon noticing this. She swore she had heard that language before… Maybe it was an elvish language out of panic, who knows. Homura soon began in a frantic, panicked tone, “She wanted to see how her powers were after her meeting with Professor Ayron, and then all of a sudden—“

The pixie was cut off due to the sound of what seemed like powerful magic flying in her direction. ‘Anna’ and Gilbert stared with widened eyes at Natalya whose hands carried the two flames of the heart of ice and dragon flame, which had been thrown right in the direction of the Pixie. Almost immediately, ‘Anna’ had dropped her textbooks and held out a hand, blocking the attack.

_“Freezus!”_

The girl shouted, resulting in the attack to form into ice. Within seconds, it shattered into pieces, causing for Natalya’s eyes to widen for a moment. How did that girl counter the attack?! That was impossible - against her powers, nonetheless!

Still, she ignored this and growled lowly underneath her tone of voice, glaring right at Homura who was horrified, “Oh can you shut the fuck up for one second?” A snarl could be heard from the fairy who stood there; letting out loud laughter, “You’re going to start a scene, Homura.”

A scene had already begun the second that Natalya had drawn her magic to attack her own bonded pixie. This was an issue and it had to be addressed quickly. ‘Anna’ turned over to Gilbert, to which she immediately exclaimed, “Gilbert, you know where Mei, or Tatyana, or Elizabeta — any of them are, right!? Go get them, we need help!” She exclaimed, “And I’ll stay here and take care of Natalya.”

A brief nod was exchanged by the man before he had sprinted off to indeed retrieve the said other fairies. Natalya though did not like where this was going at all. She simply glared right in the direction of ‘Anna’ with a piercing look.

“How the fuck did you do that, _little girl?”_ Natalya continued onwards with a snarl, though this time she began to make her way past the fairy and Pixie. She had no time nor effort to handle fighting them. Right now, she had a bigger task to accomplish, “I’m technically the Princess of the magical dimension, aren’t I?” She snickered and tossed her hair to the side, “I can do whatever I want. And no one can stop me, including _you_.”

No one can stop her, sure, ‘Anna’ knew that she was right. But in the long run, Natalya seemed to be possessed in some sort of spell… Which meant as part of her mission, she was going to make sure that she broke through it. Even if it pained her to hear the words that were coming from the woman’s mouth of whom she admired.

“Yes, you’re right Natalya,” She first began before approaching the fairy; grasping onto her shoulder to prevent her from walking off, “But as an actual human being, you’re endangering yourself. Something is wrong, and you can hurt yourself or bring destruction to others! And clearly, you’re making it seem like that’s what you’re about to do!”

It was the perfect timing when ‘Anna’ had stopped the fairy from walking away from the scene. Just as Natalya was about to snap at the other woman for talking back to her, what felt like a burst of magic hit right against the back of her wings. Just behind her as she turned around had been Elizabeta and Mei with Professor Aryon.

The thing was that the second Gilbert had burst into the suite exclaiming for help, an emergency spell was used to contact the Professor right away to get him teleported to the second year dorms. The three students, as well as for the faculty member, all found themselves greeted to the sight of Anna trying to attempt stopping Natalya from whatever she was doing.

Everyone indeed looked shocked at the sight of Natalya’s new appearance. In his hand, Ayron had held onto a wand that glew of magic before the said magic had hit her.

That one hit was enough to get Natalya to fall immediately to the ground unexpectedly, all while Anna made sure to catch her before she took the hit to the ground. What was then a possessed Natalya had transitioned into her going back to her normal attire, along with her sudden darker appearance going back to her normal one.

The Professor had instructed the girls to lift Natalya and bring her up to the wall so she was sitting upright. His reasoning was that the spell he had cast was one where it would help her get back to normal, but as with all spells, there were side effects. One of these side effects was nausea, which seemed to be the leading factor in how Natalya woke up once being broken from the said spell.

A frustrated groan could be heard from the woman when her consciousness began to catch up to her. Natalya brought a hand up to her head and blinked a few times, before opening her eyes to the sight of not only her Professor, but Elizabeta, Mei, Gilbert, her bonded pixie, and even the new girl Anna were staring right in her direction. She blinked for a few moments as her vision began to focus. By the expression on her face, it was clear that she was confused about where she was.

“Are you okay, Natalya?” Were the first words that had come from the Professor. The question was very odd to her, seeing that she didn’t know why she was being asked such a question, “Do you remember what happened?”

Remember what happened… As for why she was on the ground and everyone was staring at her? No, she didn’t. The last thing she remembered was transforming in her dorm to see how her powers had progressed after the experiment that had taken place earlier that day. After that, everything had gone dark and suddenly she was sitting in the middle of the hallway of Lenfia’s corridors.

“…What do you mean, _what happened?_ Why am I out here?” Were the first words that had come from her after a brief moment of silence. What sounded like sighs of relief could be heard from the four students and pixie who stood behind the professor, who then had held out a hand to help the girl off from the ground, “It feels like… I was possessed… Like someone was talking for me and I couldn’t do anything. I kept crying and crying for help… and I thought it was just some sort of bad dream I was going through— I fell asleep, right?”

A nod of understanding was given by Ayron after Natalya had stood up and put herself together momentarily. He looked over at Homura to explain.

“It seems that from what I’m hearing from Homura, is that you must’ve picked up some sort of shadow virus.” He explained, which the four girls, including the hero and pixie, couldn’t help but be astonished to hear, “What I can only imagine is that the experiment we had conducted earlier perhaps had you reach into darker roots in your heart, the parts of anger, sadness… And the factor that you were exposed to Shadow Haunt just a few a month ago prior could’ve done it. It just waited to attack you now instead of earlier…” He closed his eyes in thought, “Maybe perhaps of the dragon flame and heart of ice protecting you, it was protecting you.”

That would make sense… There were so many areas of darkness that she had exposed herself too. The experiment could’ve been the last thing to trigger this sudden virus in her to take over her body, yet… Why was the virus so controlling of her, then?

From what Natalya could feel deep down in her heart, was that there was some sort of task she had to accomplish. The question remains though of what kind of task it was…

…And who was this task being done for?

“I’ll have to prepare a special spell to help break you from this virus,” Professor Ayron had continued, which immediately caught the attention of the members of the group. Did that mean the spell he had just cast wouldn’t be good enough for now? “Shadow viruses are very serious… The spell I had cast is only a temporary solution, but I’d need to start working on this new spell now before another attack like that happens to you. We need to remove that virus from you before it gets any worse.”

That wasn’t the kind of news she wanted to be told. If anything, it was good to know that Ayron was knowledgable and knew exactly what was going on. It was also good that he knew exactly what kind of virus she was experiencing and that it was curable.

Natalya had nodded in understanding of these circumstances. All she had to do was maintain control of herself and not allow for this shadow virus to take over her mind and body again.

Alas, what did seem to distract her though was when Gilbert had broken into the conversation, “Listen, I’m glad to see that you’re alright Nat, and all forgiven for what happened, but I should probably go back to UHB—“

“—Wait.” It was by this time that Natalya had approached him and stopped him from taking any further steps. There was one thing on her mind the second she had remembered about UHB, along with who exactly Gilbert was in relation to one person. Her grip was tight around his wrist, which Gilbert couldn’t help but let out a nervous chuckle, “Do. Not. Tell. _Him_. About. This.”

That was _one_ thing he knew he should’ve been expecting.

The fact was that while he was the Prince of Eraqion’s best friend, he technically was supposed to be working during his time at UHB to make sure the Prince was updated on every relation he had… Including with his girlfriend who seemed to almost had killed him on the spot. The glare in her eyes was serious though when she said this, that Gilbert couldn’t help but find himself becoming a bit nervous.

“A-Alright, I won’t say anything.” A quick nod was given by him, which resulted in Natalya slowly pull her hand away with her eyes narrowed, “You’ve got my word.”

So long as Alfred didn’t find out about this shadow virus she had, she would be okay. She knew that in their relationship, they agreed to make sure that there were no secrets between them… But also with knowing Alfred and how much he would do just for her, the last thing she wanted was for him to be at her doorstep bothering her with questions and demands on what was going on.

If she was going to get better from this, it was something that she believed she needed to do on her own.

“Hey, uhm…” Anna had spoken from behind Elizabeta and Mei nervously, resulting in the three fairies to look over at her. She had a concerned expression to her face, “I’m glad to see that you’re okay… If you want, I know this amazing herbal tea spell one of my aunties taught me — it helps with all wounds, mentally and physically—“

That was kind of Anna to offer. Natalya took in a sigh as she looked at the other, shaking her head, “I appreciate it,” She declined the offer since she already knew she could get a herbal tea from Tatyana later, “…Also, Anna? I’m sorry if I said anything rude to you… I’m not usually an asshole, but I feel like I said things I wasn’t supposed to be saying at all, especially since we just met today.”

Anna’s eyes widened upon being told this. Quickly, she shook her head and held up her hands, “N-No no, it’s okay, I promise!” She reassured the other. The entire time, what looked like a huge expression of relief was on her face, “I’m just glad that you’re okay, really… I got… really scared for you for a second, so I’m just happy you’re not hurt…”

The sudden caring side that came from the girl had Natalya stare at her confusion. This girl was all worried about her? Dang, she looked more worried than her own siblings back on Earth. Natalya chuckled and gave a smile to the other, “I appreciate it, really. Thanks for looking out for me… I’m sorry again.”

“Hm…” Elizabeta glanced over at the Natalya who seemed to still be in dismay. By just her body language, it was obvious that Natalya felt bad about the circumstances that took place. Thus, resulting in the fairy of waves approaching the blonde and wrap an arm around her shoulder, “I think I know the perfect person who can help with making you feel much better.”

Helping her feel better? Oh, Natalya sure hoped so.

After being escorted to her dorm, the three fairies had departed their ways from Anna who had gone to her own dorm to handle her own business. In the midst of walking back, Natalya hadn’t noticed that Elizabeta had taken out her phone to text one particular person who could indeed help distract the other from the virus she was experiencing. All it took was for a thumbs-up emoji to be sent back, followed by the three girls returning to the dorm to seeing what looked like a spa set up by no other than…

_“Ta-da!”_

Florentyna grinned when seeing the three fairies enter the room. Natalya, Elizabeta, and Mei stared in amazement at the sight of what was just an ordinary dorm room being turned completely into… Well, what looked like a spa.

“Liz told me you need some relaxing,” Florentyna continued, “And so, I decided we’ll have a spa day and no need to worry about anything else!”

No need to worry about anything else huh, Natalya couldn’t help but think to herself. Just as she was about to open her mouth to express her gratitude for the gesture, she was immediately pulled from Elizabeta’s grip and forced into a chair, where the seat was adjusted and behind her had been a sink meant for washing hair.

“Florentyna, I think this is a bit too much,” She began while meeting the green familiar eyes of the girl who was staring right at her.

“Oh shut it Nat,” Elizabeta took a seat right beside Natalya now, watching the scene play out as Florentyna took her long blonde hair and began to rinse it, “Come on, when was the last time you’ve had a spa day to yourself?”

“…Never?”

“ _NEVER?_ ” Florentyna had paused in the middle of rinsing the girl’s hair. As she did so, she glanced down at Natalya once more with disbelief in her expression, “Come on, as a Princess you’re supposed to be getting a spa day at least twice a week!”

“It’s true,” Elizabeta responded, giving a brief nod in agreement.

Natalya sighed as she gazed up at the ceiling. She believed that the two were forgetting something very important of the moment, “….I think you two aren’t realizing that I grew up on Earth. As a normal girl. Not a Princess.”

“Don’t worry sweetie,” Elizabeta smiled, reaching over to pat the other’s cheek while Natalya’s hair had been in the middle of getting slathered with shampoo, “We’ll take perfectly good care of you.”

And so, for the next hour or so, Elizabeta and Florentyna indeed did stick to their words of giving Natalya the spa-day she never experienced before. Even with her technically being a Princess of the magical dimension, she never had the opportunity to experience what it was like to do things as a princess.

The spa day was definitely something that Natalya did not expect.

For example, the hair washing, the nail painting, her feet getting massaged, and the face masks… Then of course Florentyna just wanted to be a bit extra with putting make-up on the girl.

Her pixie, Homura, flew around assisting the two women who were taking care of her bonded fairy. She would help once in a while by bringing over some nail polish or water, but she was indeed happy to see that Natalya seemed to be relaxing.

“What the hell is this?” A new voice managed to fill the room after a few minutes of Florentyna had been in the process of applying eyeliner to Natalya. The three girls who were in the middle of their spa day had been interrupted by the sight of Monika entering the room in casual attire; a pair of jeans, a white shirt, a leather jacket, and a few bags in her hands, “I come back from doing my homework in the library, and you all are having a spa day, _without_ me?”

Laughter could be heard from Elizabeta and Florentyna at this statement while Natalya felt her cheeks redden. Mei, however, who had been sitting in a chair in the middle of playing a few strings on her guitar spoke out to the tall blonde, “Wait in line, Monika. I’m next, but it’s been interesting to see Florentyna put make-up on Natalya for the first time.”

“I know, right?!” Florentyna had commented, pulling back from Natalya with observant eyes, “I always tell her a little mascara can change anything! But noooo, Natty doesn’t like make-up. But even in your fairy form, you’re wearing make-up and don’t complain!”

“That’s because being a fairy is different than being a human,” Natalya couldn’t help but to mumble, before standing up to look at herself in the mirror. Dear lord, Florentyna had gone very overboard with the whole spa idea.

Just taking a glance at herself, Natalya had her hair curled at its ends and pulled into a high ponytail. Along with this, she had been put into an outfit that she normally wouldn’t wear. In this case, it had been crop-to with high waisted jean shorts, followed by high heels and the amount of make-up on her face.

“Holy shit….” Natalya stared at herself in the mirror, blinking a few times, “I look like one of those plastic dolls on _Vogue_ …”

“What’s _Vogue_?” Elizabeta tilted her head in confusion.

“…It’s a magazine on Earth, don’t worry about it.” A bit of a sigh came from Natalya as she approached the mirror and stared at herself. For some strange reason, a part of her…

…Wanted to express her anger about the look.

This wasn’t her. If anything, she felt more uncomfortable being in a damn crop-top than the make-up on her face.

The more she stood in the mirror, the more a darker glare came from the girl.

The power that came from the simple glare instantly resulted in a crack to form in the mirror.

The group of girls who were standing in the room chatting amongst themselves immediately went silent at the sounds of glass breaking, which they all immediately turned to the direction of Natalya who was staring at herself at a broken mirror. What managed to catch their attention the most though, was the sight of darkness beginning form around the girl.

“Uhm….” Mei began, slowly standing up from her seat and lowering the guitar that was once in her hands, “Nat? Are you okay?”

“Hey, what’s all that black smoke around her?” Monika immediately shot a glare over at Florentyna and Elizabeta, whose eyes were focused on Natalya in the horror of the sight they were witnessing.

Natalya had brought her hands up to her head. Immediately, the sounds of distressed groans could be heard from the girl as the darkness around her soon began to grow, “My head…nn..” The outfit she was once wearing had flashed back and forth with her fairy attire, which immediately caught the group of other fairies' attentions.

“I-I-I’ll l go get Professor Ayron!” Elizabeta had immediately taken out her phone, making her way over to the door. Just as she had been about to reach the handle, all she had done was touch the metal handle once before pulling back with a shriek at how hot it had been, “The door handles, they’re hot! Fuck!” She groaned, turning her head over to a group of girls again who was now staring at Natalya with horror in their eyes.

Natalya, who was still standing in the mirror had been in completely different attire. While she was in her fairy form, she had been in the same outfit as before when the virus had attacked her body. There were no words that came from her. Instead, all Natalya had done was turn her head over to the group of fairies; piercing yellow eyes making direct eye contact with each of them. A hand was held out at the direction of the door; this being an indicator of why the handles were hot.

“ _Sorry ladies,”_ Were the first words that came from her as she turned away from the mirror, now pulling her hand away from the direction of the door. She soon began to make her way to the door, pushing Elizabeta to the side and grabbing the handle herself, “I have business to attend to. And if you one of you fucking dare tell the Professor of this, I will make sure to ring your heads one. by. one.”

With the door opening, Natalya had walked out with the trail of darkness just behind her. The group of girls had stood there in belief and horror at the sight of what just happened, thus resulting in Monika to speak out first.

“What the fuck was that!?” She immediately shouted at the top of her lungs, glaring right at Florentyna and Elizabeta, “What is going on with her?!”

“It’s the shadow virus again!” Homura immediately interrupted the fairy of technology who was angered by Natalya’s behavior, “She got some sort of virus after leaving the shadow realm. It’s attacked her once already today and Professor Ayron managed to stop it, but the spell he cast didn’t work!”

“I’m going to go let him know right now before she gets into any trouble,” Elizabeta stated, rubbing her hands quickly before anything else had happened.

In the middle of running out of the room, she had held her hands out; a magic barrier forming around her frame. Once breaking from the frame, her entire attire had been different with fairy wings grown on her back, _“Charmix!”_

Within seconds, a bright light flashed around her body as she jumped into the air and flew, going straight after to get the Professor. Elizabeta had been now wearing a green top with a sash around her waist along with a green skirt and green boots. On one arm, she had a pink ribbon wrapped around her upper arm while her hair had been pulled back halfway with pink jewels.

The rest of the fairies in the other room immediately exchanged looks at each other before also proceeding with transforming into their fairy attires, knowing that they had to stop Natalya with anything they had. It was during their transformation sequences that Homura had flown out of the room, immediately catching up to Natalya who was flying in a specific direction.

“Oh Homura,” Natalya couldn’t help but to snicker at the sight of the quivering pixie, “Glad to see that you decided to join me rather be with the rest of those pathetic fairies.”

The pixie’s eyes widened in response to hearing her bonded fairy say such things about her friends, “Natalya, you need to go back and wait for Professor Ayron to take care of you. You aren’t acting like yourself!”

“On the contrary Homura,” Natalya shot a dark glare towards the quivering pixie while continuing to walk down the hallways of the university, “I actually am feeling quite fine. But it’s good that you’re here…” As she said this, she stopped once reaching the end of the hallway. There seemed to be nothing around the area for anyone looking…

…But for her, she saw something else.

“I’m looking for something, which you may be able to help with by using those Pixie eyes of yours,” All Natalya had done was take a quick glance at Homura, who was focused on something else. Silly little pixie, Natalya thought to herself when noticing that Homura had been staring off at a distance.

Without any other word, Natalya had followed to where Homura had been looking, resulting in the Pixie to immediately pale at the sight of where the fairy was going, “Is this what you were looking at, Homura?” Natalya called out, reaching over and touching the wall. However, with a twist of her wrist, it was revealed that she was holding onto something else. A door immediately now formed where the wall once was, followed by it being opened with Natalya twisting its handle.

“No… no no no…” Homura panicked upon realizing that she had given away to the possessed fairy where she was exactly looking at. Almost immediately, she flew in front of Natalya’s direction, holding her arms out, “You can’t go in there, Natalya! This is Lenfia’s secret archives that only Pixies or authorized magical beings may enter!”

“Well, I am an authorized magical being, aren’t I?” Natalya had reached over and moved the Pixie out of her way. As she walked in, she glanced around the room with her eyes narrowed. With just entering the room, what could be revealed was a variety of books being placed on shelves. It was almost as if it were a secret library, but books weren’t what she was looking for, “I’m the youngest daughter of the royal family. I’m the Princess, I can be in here if I want to.”

Within seconds, Natalya had been in the middle of the air, beginning her search.

* * *

Outside of Lenfia, in a completely different world based underground, a Kingdom of Darkness resided where its ruler had been in the middle of watching the scene take place with the possessed fairy. In front of him, an orb glew to play out the scene of where the fairy could be seen flying around the archives, pulling out different books and tossing them to the ground.

“Absolutely… Marvelous.” Demande chuckled, holding his hand out toward the orb where he could get a better close-up of the girl’s face, “I’ll soon have the final Codex in my hands… The fact that I’ve managed to possess the Princess of the magical dimension… Legend says the Dragon Flame and Heart of Ice are supposed to protect her…

_…but it seems that Legend is false seeing as I have her as my personal puppet now.”_

* * *

“Where the _fuck_ is it?” What sounded like gibbering Russian came from the fairy who had tossed a pile of books onto the ground at this point. She had to hurry with this mission before the rest of the fairies had brought the Professor. And if she didn’t listen to her master, then there could be consequences.

With being distracted to look around for the said Codex, what Natalya hadn’t realized was that Homura had flown off in order to retrieve help. The little pixie had flew around the hallways of Lenfia, attempting to find the keeper of the secret archives who already knew the princess by heart…

….Or maybe the keeper would be able to bring sense into the girl! The keeper was a Professor at the school who was a Psychic! She usually stayed in Lenfia’s secret library to protect it, but for once, why wasn’t she there!?

It took a few minutes, but eventually, Homura had stumbled across Professor Laurel, who was in the middle of flying back with her pet pixie to the secret archives. Homura was in a panicked state, practically grasping onto the older pixie’s hand, “I need your help, ma’am! It’s an emergency!”

The Professor was caught off guard the second she had noticed the screaming, panicked Pixie flying right at her direction. She paused for a moment, holding onto her belongings while allowing for Homura to grab her hand, completely unphased.

“An emergency?” The older pixie blinked in confusion at the other paled pixie, “What seems to be the matter, dear?”

All Homura had done without exchanging another word is immediately drag the older pixie toward the direction of the secret archives. From just taking a glance at the entrance that was now exposed to the public eye, books had been flying out of it as if it were being cleaned out. This immediately caught the attention of the older pixie, who glanced at her pet pixie, gave a quick nod and proceeded to enter the archives to catch Natalya in the middle of tossing the said books.

Immediately, Professor Laurel had recognized who it was. She hadn’t seen Natalya since the beginning of the school year, ever since the fairy had asked her to read her fortune. There was confusion all around her face - what was the fairy doing? It was as if she was trashing the entire place in search of something.

“Ms. Arlovskaya,” Laurel flew up towards Natalya, only to be met with red eyes that had replaced the soft, violet-blue ones that originally were there before, “What are you doing? Are you still doing more research about your family and Sparx? Professor Ayron told me you’re working on this… And if you’d like, I could help you, but I ask that you stop throwing the books around—“

A bit of interest perked in Natalya’s facial expression when hearing the offer. It was then that a sickening smirk formed on the woman’s lips before tossing the next book she had in hand onto the ground, “Fantastic. Then maybe you’ll be able to help me locate Lenfia’s piece of the Codex.”

“…The Codex!?” The Pixie’s eyes widened in response to hearing what the fairy was actually looking for.

No, that didn’t make sense at all. Why was Natalya all of the sudden wanting the Codex? It was impossible - how could she know that it was in Lenfia? No one had told her, right?

At first, she would imagine it’s to protect it… But with her sudden behavior changing and the darker look in her eyes, she could only imagine that it was for something much worse.

“It’s in here, you can’t lie to me, now,” Natalya only continued with flying a bit higher up to the bookshelves she couldn’t reach. As she did so, the bookkeeper followed just behind her, “Headmistress Radella always said that when my powers sense something, they are never wrong. And my powers are telling me my father hid it here. You wouldn’t _dare_ lie to your Princess, would you?”

The Professor looked around in a panic, followed by moving in a direction away from the fairy who was acting stranger than usual. She couldn’t know the truth… While she was indeed the Princess of the magical dimension, she couldn’t know! And the scary aura the fairy was producing didn’t seem to help at all with the circumstances, “E-Even i-if it were to b-be in here, what exactly do you plan on doing with it?”

A brow rose on Natalya’s facial expression when hearing the bookkeeper Pixie question what she was doing.

Was the Pixie serious?

“What does it look like I’m going to do with it, shove it up my ass?” She snarled, resulting in Homura to gasp loudly at her foul language, “No you nuisance of a pixie. I’m bringing it to the Dark Lord, where he will keep it in his possession.”

Both Professor Laurel and Homura felt their eyes widen at hearing the words Natalya had admitted to.

So she was bringing it to Lord Demande!

That was the last thing they all wanted for Lenfia, which resulted in Laurel to immediately fly in the middle of Natalya’s direction, magic glowing in the palms of her hands, “The one who entrusted a piece of the Codex to be here at Lenfia was your own mother _after_ she convinced your father, Natalya. She would be ashamed of you if she knew what you were doing! Even if you are her daughter, there is no way I will ever allow for you to have that piece!”

“Oh?” Natalya snickered, tossing another book once more to the ground after flipping through its pages, “And what exactly are you going to do to me? You do realize that _I’m_ the most powerful fairy in the magical dimension. No one can stop me, even a tiny Pixie like you.”

It was as she said these words, what felt like a sharp pain filled her mind. Her eyes glew of light, all while a voice filled her head, screaming in agony.

_THIS WOMAN ISN’T ME! PLEASE, THE DARK LORD IS DOING THIS TO ME! HELP!_

There was the cry for her mother when hearing the mentioning of what Laurel was said. While the mentioning of her parents brought pain to Natalya’s physical heart, the darkness had only squeezed around it, consuming it more and more into the Dark Lord’s grasp. The pain vanished eventually, all while Natalya glared at the Pixie, waiting for what she had to say.

“Maybe I can’t stop you, but maybe I can teach you a lesson on picking someone your own _size_!” That managed to bring a bit of anger to the bookkeeper. With glowing magic in the palms of her hands, an orb formed, and soon she had thrown in at the direction of the fairy, watching as it hit right up against her back. As the spell began to take place, she looked over at Homura, “Go get help, right now! Go!”

“On it!” Homura had shrieked, immediately flying out of the archives and towards the direction of Professor Ayron’s office. Elizabeta was going to retrieve him, but Natalya was nowhere near the suite. She had to guide them to Lenfia’s archives immediately.

Just as Natalya had been about to pick up another book, she had let out a screech at the feeling of magic hitting against her back. That was when she began to realize that the original size she was once in immediately began to shrink and all of the books surrounding her becoming smaller.

“What the fuck did you just do!?” She began as the spell took place, resulting in her to become as small as the pixies who flew in front of her, “Change me back, immediately!”

That was when Natalya had noticed where Homura had been going, “Hey, come back here Homura!” She snapped, holding her hands out as flames began to form in the palms of her hands. Almost immediately, she sent the flames flying right behind Homura. Fortunately, she had missed due to how quickly the pixie had run off, resulting in a low growl to come from the girl.

Damn, now she could get in trouble if Homura did succeed in getting back-up. This meant she was limited on time with finding the Codex. That was when she looked at the books, analyzing them for a moment before flames began to form in the palms of her hands.

“I bet my powers would radiate against the Codex, right?” She began, holding her hands towards the direction of the books, “So if I burn every book in here, then at some point I should be able to find the codex!”

And one by one, Natalya had thrown her magic towards the direction of the books. The books instantly were filled with flames, resulting in shrieks coming from Professor Laurel out of panic.

“Stop right now young lady, immediately!” She had used her own magic to attempt to burn out the flames. But alas, pixie magic was nowhere near compared to the magic of the dragon flame and heart of ice, “If you burn those books, the magic in them will be gone forever! We can’t risk that! Natalya, please stop!”

“Listen pipsqueak, I’m in a bit of a hurry now that you’ve decided to get my own bonded pixie to turn against me and get authorities,” Natalya snarled at the other; red eyes glaring in the direction of the bookkeeper as she held her hands towards the direction of more books that were immediately becoming filled with flames, “But if you simply told me where the Codex was, none of this would be happening. You have two choices,” She flew up toward the direction of the bookkeeper pixie, “Tell me where the codex is or let this place be filled with oblivion.”

No response was given by Professor Laurel. Thus, with the snap of her fingers, a white flame formed around the pixie as she let out a shriek of horror, “The more you move in that flame, the colder it will get,” Natalya glared at her, “So come on, cough it up.”

The animal pixie that was once standing beside Laurel immediately shrieked in horror at the sight of its owner being trapped in the said white flame. Almost immediately, the animal pixie flew at its owner, whimpered, followed by flying up toward the direction of a book.

Natalya could feel her grin grow within seconds upon realizing what the animal was going, “Good little pet. Go on, show me where the Codex is and I’ll free your master.”

The pet made its way toward the direction of a red book. The animal had pulled out the said book and flipped to a specific page as to where the codex had been residing on a particular page. The animal pixie looked over at the fairy now with the item she so longingly wanted in her possession, growling at the sight of her making her way over.

“Hand. It. Over.” Natalya demanded, holding her hand out towards the animal with a piercing, cold glare.

There was only a whimper that came from the animal pixie before flying immediately _opposite_ to where the fairy was coming from.

A loud groan of annoyance to come from Natalya, seeing that the animal pixie was playing hard to get now that he had exposed the codex to her, “Oh for fuck’s sake, just hand it over and we can be done with all of this!” Her hands began to glow of power out of anger the more the animal pixie flew around her.

During her process of chasing the pixie, the spell that was once cast on the bookkeeper began to fade. Since Natalya had been focused on chasing the animal pixie, her focus once again was nowhere near the bookkeeper pixie. Natalya had been screaming in anger, throwing her magic at the animal until it would hit.

And indeed, one hit of her magic was all it took for the animal pixie to have the Codex knocked from its mouth.

“The Codex!” Natalya growled now upon seeing the item begin to make its way to the ground. She immediately turned her direction, flying straight down before the Codex could hit the ground or make contact with anyone else.

A burst of magic came from Natalya as she flew down to catch the item, this being enough to also break the spell that the bookkeeper had placed on her of making her small. Once the codex was in her grasp, Natalya grinned as dark magic surrounded her frame.

“Finally…” She looked at it, almost as if it had been a prized possession she had finally been able to get, “The last piece of the codex in my possession… Lord Demande will be most pleased with this.”

“No…. Natalya!” The psychic pixie slowly began to stand up from the table she had been once trapped in the flame at, “You have no idea what evil you’re about to commit! You’re not an evil person, don’t do this!”

“And why not?” Natalya grinned at the pixie, holding the Codex into the air as loud laughter filled the room. This laughter being loud enough for the individuals outside the archive room being able to hear, “With this, my master will be able to become the most powerful demon in the entire magical dimension!”

Just below Natalya and the bookkeeper pixie, the individuals who were just outside the archives had entered the room upon hearing the familiar laughter of their friend. Five fairies with wings grown onto their backs began to look around the room; shocked to know of the archive’s existence.

However, with the main five fairies being in the room, a sixth fairy had been hidden behind the door. She kept her distance away to not get spotted, but she had to stay close now to understand the events of what was going on.

Anna peered from the corner of the door, feeling her eyes widened at the sight of Mei, Tatyana, Elizabeta, Monika, and Florentyna all standing there in their fairy forms. She had never gotten the chance to see them as fairies in training before… It was the first time for her, after being so used to knowing their true forms of fairies already.

Alas, she kept her silence, feeling her heart drop the second she peered from the door to see the sight of Natalya in the middle of the air with the final piece of the Codex. Her heart was absolutely shattered by the sight, but there was nothing she could do.

“Whoa, what is this place?” Florentyna began with widened eyes.

“I never knew this place existed!” Tatyana had followed-up in agreement to the other fairy.

“That’s because it’s supposed to be a secret that we students aren’t supposed to know of,” Monika responded, holding out a digital map with her hands, “It’s not even on Lenfia’s campus map. We’re not supposed to be here…. yet…” She looked up towards the direction of where Natalya had been above them, “…here we are.”

“Ladies, stay focused,” Mei snapped at the group, giving a glare at each fairy, “This isn’t about the archive. We’re here for Natalya. And judging by the look on her face and what’s in her hand…” She pointed up above them, “ _That_ isn’t good at all _.”_

The familiar voices all filled her ears, resulting in Natalya to take a glance down at the ground to recognize the group of fairies. All of her friends… More of traitors for coming there in the first place thinking they’d attempt stopping her from bringing the Codex to her master.

“Natalya, are you okay?” Elizabeta had called out to the other, slowly making her way toward the fairy in the air with her own wings.

That didn’t seem to be a good idea. Almost at an instant of doing so, a burst of firing magic came at Elizabeta’s direction. The fairy shrieked in response, holding out her hands to form a shield that had stopped the attack before she looked over at Natalya with horror in her eyes.

“ _Never better, Liz._ ” Natalya cackled at the sight of her form a shield around her as if she were attempting to protect herself from someone as powerful as her, “Maybe it’d be the best idea that you stay down there. I have work to do.”

Work to do… This didn’t sound good at all.

Monika had held out her hands and formed what looked like a digital monitor. There, she had looked up at Natalya and scanned her frame from head to toe, followed by reading the data that came up from her screen.

“This isn’t good at all,” She began as she formed her hands into fists; closing the monitor, “It’s as if some sort of darkness that’s taken over her mind completely. She’s being controlled through a spell,” It was as she was taking a glance over at Natalya though that she noticed the item in her hands. Almost immediately, she called out to the other, “Natalya, is that the fourth piece of the Codex?”

“YES!” Professor Laurel had immediately flown down toward the direction of the group of fairies who were all startled by her sudden presence, “And if we don’t do something to stop her, Lenfia and all of the magical dimension will be in eternal danger!”

“Well, if this means it’s the Dark Lord and witches’ work,” A bright power began to form in Elizabeta’s hands as she glared right at Natalya who was returning the gesture, “Then we’re on it.” Just as she had been about to jump into the air with a spell already ready to be cast, Mei and Florentyna had immediately pulled Elizabeta back, “Wha-“

“Don’t,” Tatyana immediately began as she approached Elizabeta, placing a hand on her shoulder followed by giving her a small smile, “Let me talk to her.”

Talk to her? Elizabeta stared at Tatyana as if the woman were crazy to consider that! Monika had just said that Natalya was being possessed at that very moment. Talking to her would do nothing unless they were to break the spell. And by the look on Natalya’s eyes, it seemed that she wouldn’t hesitate to pick a fight if the rest of the fairies did as well.

And talking was something that Tatyana believed would work. Natalya was technically the most powerful fairy in the magical dimension.

The idea that she had in mind is that even the most powerful fairy would be able to break any spell that was cast on herself. If she was able to reach the real Natalya, deep within her heart, maybe the spell could be broken.

“Natalya…” Tatyana had flown up just a bit, speaking up to the fairy that was above her, “You wouldn’t hurt us. We’re your family and we all love you very much. Please come down and maybe we can work a compromise. I’m not asking for you to give up the Codex, just to come down here and talk.”

“To talk?” Natalya had burst out laughing in response to this, placing her hands on her hips, “As I could care! I am so _fucking_ tired of all the fake cheeriness that comes from you, Tatyana. And the stupid notes that you pass with Florentyna. At this point everyone knows that you two are a thing, so why don’t you just admit it. All the hearts and flowers, it’s so girly and pathetic. That’s why you’re such a weak fairy.” She spat at the girl, resulting in horror to form on not just Tatyana’s face, but Florentyna’s expression as well.

Tears immediately began to take place on Tatyana’s eyes as she heard these words. Well… That certainly hurt. A lot. Especially coming from someone that she truly cared for.

What sounded like gasps filled the entire room the second this was said aloud. For one thing, no one had expected something like that to ever come from Natalya’s mouth. Even for Tatyana and Florentyna, who looked horribly offended at that statement, didn’t know what to say. Even Anna, who remained hidden outside, gasped very loudly to the point where she covered her mouth in shock.

She swore she knew Natalya better than this. But the fact that the fairy practically just shut Tatyana down like that — she was some sort of monster!

Tears immediately began to take place on Tatyana’s eyes as she heard these words. Well… That certainly hurt. A lot. Especially coming from someone that she truly cared for.

“… _that_ was actually messed up,” Florentyna began, placing an arm around Tatyana to bring her into a close embrace.

“Don’t listen to her,” Elizabeta reassured Tatyana who had teared up in response to hearing the harsh words, “That _bitch_ isn’t Natalya. She’s a puppet of Demande’s and we need to get the real Natalya out of that possessed state. That is not Natalya talking right now.”

Anger began to form on Florentyna’s expression now upon hearing the laughter that came from Natalya just above them. With her hands held out, what looked like a scepter was formed with the shape of a sun and moon placed on top of it. She flew into the air now, glaring right at the darker fairy.

“Alright Natty, I am so sick of your bullshit and behavior!” She screamed up towards the girl; now jumping into the air while holding her scepter right at her, “Snap out of it or I _swear_ on your father’s dead grave that I will twist your head so far to the point that you’ll be begging to come back to reality.”

It was in the middle of Florentyna’s speech that Natalya had her eyes closed, indicating that she hadn’t been paying attention.

_Hold on a little bit longer, Princess. Gelinda is coming as quickly as she can to retrieve the Codex._

Once her focus returned, Natalya opened her eyes and looked over at the ball of magic that had formed along Florentyna’s scepter. With a small sigh, all she had done was snap her fingers, resulting in the said magic to fade from the scepter, “Nice try, Florentyna. But you’re going to have to do much more to stop me.”

“What the-“ Florentyna immediately looked at her scepter, horrified at the sight of her magic disappearing, “How can you manipulate magic like that!? That’s impossible!”

The thing was, it _was_ possible. Anna stared at Florentyna with her eyes widened. They all didn’t know the true powers of the dragon flame and heart of ice yet at this time, right? Were they completely unaware of how powerful Natalya was at any time?

“Nothing’s impossible when you have the ultimate power of the magical dimension,” Natalya responded, followed by holding out her hands where five orbs of flames had formed in the palms of her hands. Almost immediately, the orbs flew in the direction of each fairy for an attack, resulting in them all to dodge away before taking a hit.

Florentyna however, still wasn’t having it. After dodging the attack, she flew up close to Natalya, holding out her hands, “That’s it! I’ve had enough of your shit, Natalya!” Bright magic formed around the scene, “ _Solar flare!”_

Seeing the attempt that Florentyna had with her magic had Natalya’s eyes narrow. Before it could have any effect on her, she had held out her hands where flames immediately took over the light that had been produced from Florentyna.

“Sweetie, did you forget?” She glared at the other, “I can fight fire with fire. Or better yet,” Natalya snapped her fingers, the magic that was once Florentyna’s being immediately frozen and shattering into pieces, “I can also fight ice too.”

“We need to do some sort of convergence spell,” Monika immediately flew up toward the direction of the rest of the fairies who were now in the air, “Convergence magic is what’ll probably keep her down—“

“—Moni,” Mei interrupted, pointing over at Natalya now, “I think we’re too late..”

And indeed, it was too late.

Natalya had flown up toward the ceiling of the archive and with a burst of magic, shattered the glass roof that belonged to it. Outside the roof, a hand had stuck out through the glass. A hand that all five of the fairies down below immediately recognized.

“GELINDA!?” All of them had shrieked in a panic, now jumping into the air to stop the witch from obtaining the Codex.

The thing was, the witch was only there for one thing, and one thing only. Her head peered through the glass now while Natalya had held out the Codex to her. With a swipe of it, she grasped onto it and glared at the girls with a smirk, “Sorry ladies, the Dark Lord sends his appreciation to you all, and thanks for the final piece.”

As this was said, a bright light formed around where the witch had been flying, leaving her to vanish into thin air with the Codex. Shocked expressions were all that the fairies had on their faces - nothing could be said. The fact that Natalya had tag-teamed with Gelinda — the one witch who had tried to _kill_ her earlier that year to have the dragon flame and heart of ice — they were working together for the Dark Lord!?

Despite the shock, Monika spoke up in between the horror, “Guys, her powers are off the charts at this point. We need to do something, _NOW!”_ She immediately dropped the devices she had in her hands and shot a wave of magic at Natalya, resulting in the fairy to take the hit to the ground.

Natalya groaned slightly as she pushed herself off from the table she had landed on. Once she had been in the air, she looked right down at the girls with a dark expression as her hands burned with magic, “Oh you little sly bitch…”

“ _She’s in here, hurry!”_

Anna, who had been originally hiding in her spot at the door, recognized the voice of Homura’s panicked voice. She looked around for a moment, sprinting away from the entrance of the archive so she could hide herself at the corner of the hallway. From there, all she could see was Professor Ayron rushing inside with the Pixie in a panic.

It was still so weird to her… Ayron…

…Was he really the Ayron she had been warned about before going on this mission?

The new voice immediately filled Natalya’s ears from below. As she took a glance down at the five fairies, now stood the Professor with what looked like a wand in his hands as he looked up at the possessed, dark fairy.

Great, more trouble for her.

“What’s going on?” Professor Ayron had looked at the group of girls who had looked indeed horrified at the sight of what just happened, “Where’s Natalya?”

“She’s there, Professor,” Mei began, pointing up at Natalya who had been laughing maniacally now at the sight of the group.

“Hello Professor Ayron,” Natalya grinned at the Professor with flames of magic forming in her hands, “Or as they say where I grew up to refer our enemies, _Privet Comrade_. You made it on time to experience my wrath of making sure the Dark Lord becomes the most powerful individual on this dimension.”

Professor Ayron’s eyes narrowed at the girl before immediately making his way towards her, “This is nonsense, Natalya,” He began before now holding the wand out at the girl. The tip of the wand soon began to glow with light as he closed his eyes, “ _Snora, inurga, desito!”_

Bright magic filled the air once the spell was said aloud. Natalya had attempted to dodge away from the attack, but alas, a restoration spell was much more powerful than she thought it would. All it had taken was one hit for her to be taken down immediately. Not just consciously, but to the point that her whole fairy form had de-transformed her back into the original clothes that she was once in.

That didn’t seem to be a good thing at all see that she had been multiple feet in the air. Almost immediately, all of the fairies flew up at Natalya and held their arms out to catch her unconscious body. They all had been quick enough to catch her, and soon they all lowered her body to the ground where the bookkeeper fairy had laid out a pillow to rest her head.

“…is she….” Florentyna looked at the Professor with widened eyes, “...Dead?”

“No.” The Professor had shaken his head, letting out a sigh of relief seeing that the girl was looking back to normal, “This should have fully broken the virus away from her body. She should be okay now.”

And indeed, his words were correct. Slowly but surely, Natalya began to regain her consciousness. Her vision was very blurry at first upon slowly opening her eyes, but as she blinked a few times, her vision came into focus.

The red orbs that once belonged to her eyes had returned to their original soft, natural violet-blue ones. It was when her vision was in focus that she began to notice the multiple eyes staring down at her, resulting in her to gasp awake as she shot up from the ground being startled at the sight.

“…Nnh…” Natalya placed a hand on her forehead, “Help… please… that’s not me…my head…”

“Natalya!” Florentyna felt her eyes tear up immediately at the sight of Natalya looking back to her normal self. Almost immediately, the fairy dropped to the ground and grabbed the girl’s shoulders, “Quick! What was the name of the spell for uh… changing hair color!”

“… _enanance divora_ ,” Natalya murmured and stared right at Florentyna in confusion upon seeing her tear up, “…we learned that… as first years… are you okay? Did you forget already?”

What looked like relief began to form on Florentyna’s face as the seconds passed. Almost immediately, she pulled Natalya into a tight hug as tears streamed down her cheeks, “She’s back to normal! It is Natalya!”

Natalya sat there in disbelief at all of the eyes continuing to stare at her. She didn’t care at the fact of Florentyna crying on her shoulder, that was something usual that happened frequently. However, what she didn’t understand though was why the Professor was there, “Why are you all here? What happened?”

The Professor had held out a hand to Natalya, which she had taken to slowly stand up, “You see Ms. Arlovskaya…” Now, a sigh managed to escape from between his lips. Concern had filled his face, which was one thing she had immediately taken note of, “…The shadow virus was _much_ worse than we thought. I thought the earlier spell would prevent another attack from happening, but I was wrong. You should be alright for now, but I would highly advise that you never go back to Shadow Haunt _ever_ again.”

A paled expression immediately formed on Natalya’s face when hearing that the shadow virus had struck her again. She still had no idea what she had done… Hell, she didn’t even remember what had happened when she was under the spell.

“…I… I don’t remember anything,” She began before looking over at each fairy, “I just… _Please_ , forgive me if I said something or did anything,” She looked over at Tatyana, whose expression softened, “I don’t know if this happened, but I feel like I said some very messed up things, and I feel so bad about it. So if I did, please, I ask that you forgive me. I’m so sorry.”

A smile formed on Tatyana’s face as she approached Natalya, pulling the girl into a tight hug and patting the back of her head, “It’s okay, Natalya. We understand. What matters now,” She pulled back and cupped the girl’s cheeks, “Is that you’re safe and okay.”

That made her feel a bit better. Though upon just glancing around and seeing the scene they were in…. That’s when she realized, “Wait,” She looked above her, noticing the shattered roof.

“This is the archive of Lenfia… Radella only lets me come in here to do research on my family and it’s where the co-“ She fell silent upon seeing everyone’s nervous expressions, “What really happened in here—“

A small sigh came from the Professor, followed by a nod, “…Unfortunately… It seemed that only you were the one who knew where your father’s last possession was… The final piece of the Codex,” He said in a polite way, knowing that the girl was still hurt about the Codex being lost at UHB just a few days prior, “And we’ll have to let the Headmistress know. But for now, do not worry. We’ll take care of it.”

Natalya had brought her hands up to her head. No… No! This could not be happening. She had been ranting earlier about being angry about losing the codex at the Village for Pixies, and there she was again in a situation that _she_ caused with losing the codex of Lenfia’s once again to the Dark Lord!

“…I promise,” She began with her hands clutched in fists as she lowered them from her head, “I’ll bring the Codex back to Lenfia… And UHB… And the Tower of the Dead… And the Village for Pixies… No matter what.”

That was when the exhaustion began to pick up. As she was standing there, her eyes had rolled to the back of her head as she slowly began to topple. Immediately, Elizabeta had been right behind her, catching her before she could hit the ground.

“Nn… my head still hurts…” Natalya only continued off from what she had been saying before opening her half-lidded eyes, “…I do remember one thing, though….” She began, looking over at Homura who had been flying just behind Tatyana, “Homura… I saw how much you tried to take care of me at the moment, and you have no idea how proud I am of you because of that,” She began, “Thank you.”

The Pixie who listened to these words felt her heart begin to beat when hearing the words from her bonded fairy. Oh, this was just wonderful to her. Absolutely wonderful. And so, Homura approached Natalya, pressing her face into the girl’s chest, “Oh Natalya…”

“…Everything will be alright now…” Natalya sighed softly, placing a hand on top of the pixie’s head, “…I promise.”

* * *

Silence filled the throne room of the Shadow Realm as the three individuals who lingered inside it, patiently awaited for Gelinda’s return to the Kingdom. Aviana and nebula had their heads down, showing their admiration and respect to the Dark Lord while he sat in his throne, glaring at the orb with an impatient look to his face.

That was when he had heard it. The sounds of heels clinking from outside the throne room, followed by the pair of grand doors opening to reveal the one witch who had been bringing him the final piece to get a step closer to his mission.

Gelinda walked directly to the Dark Lord, who had risen from his throne now. The Codex that had been in her hand was placed on top of the table that had been set in front of him, with the remaining piece.

All four pieces of the Codex… The key to the Realm of Relix, that King Viktor years ago had hidden far away that no one would be able to ever find. Now, all of it was together. There was no stopping them. Any individual who dared to enter Shadow Haunt to try and steal it back, well, it would be an extremely difficult situation for those who resided in the realm.

“…Wonderful job, absolutely wonderful job, Gelinda…” Demande let out a small hint of laughter while the witch had backed away and given her bows of respect to the ruler. The man had held his hands over the four pieces now; a dark glow coming from them the second he had connected his magic to it, “And a wonderful job to you both, Aviana and Nebula as well… Now that we have all four pieces, the Realm of Relix’s door will be able to form for us.”

That was the first step to getting to the time and space portal. To form its door, which was exactly what the Codex was. The key to getting the door, while the true key had resided in someone else to do.

With his hands held out, he had focused his dark energy into the Codex. The Codex was such a positive tool of the light, that if overpowered by darkness, it wouldn’t be able to handle it. All four pieces began to rapidly flash in bright light, resulting in the witches to turn their heads away while the Dark Lord had cast his spell.

_“Allosas… Form thy door!”_

The enchantment was loud and clear for the four individuals present in the room. While he continued to hold his hands out, darkness formed around all four pieces of the Codex for them to be brought all together into one. The size of it was much bigger now that the Codex was all in one piece before it had flown off in front of the Dark Lord.

All it took was a few seconds. A few seconds for the darkness to not only wear off but for the Codexes to be entirely transformed at this point to reveal what looked to be…

…a door.

It hadn’t been any sort of door. This door, with beautiful designs of roses and vines engraved into it, stood in front of the four individuals of darkness. Right in the middle of it, there had been a keyhole. A keyhole that the three witches had no idea what it was there for, but Demande knew right away.

“…To open the door, I need its true key.” He spoke in a calm expression as he stepped down from his place. Approaching the door, he didn’t touch it, out of concern that if he did, the Codexes would break apart and shatter the door. They had worked too hard to get where they were now…

…It was all so close.

There was just one more thing that needed to be done.

“The key… Being the possessor of the dragon flame and heart of ice,” He paused for a moment after saying this, noticing that the witches had kept their heads bowed down to him. He examined the three for a moment before stepping away from the door and returning to his throne, already having an idea in mind.

“I need Princess Natasha - she is the only one who can open this door,” As the Dark Lord confirmed this, his hand lingered over the magical orb in front of the throne. Instead of there being an image of Natalya, it had been a different image. This image being of a man that he had been using as his little own puppet to get to Natalya. He already got her trust, and now, all he needed to do was reel her in, “ _…_ You may rest now, my dear witches. As rewards for your efforts, I will give you more strength to your magical abilities…

_...and leave Professor Ayron to do all the final work of bringing the Princess to me.”_

* * *

Everything had been dark. The night had quickly arrived after the events of what took place at Lenfia had finally come to an end. Natalya was sent to be put on strict bed rest for the remainder of the day, all while her friends were to keep watch on her to make sure there hadn’t been another attack of the virus.

For now, it was assumed that it was out of her system. There weren’t any other attacks, and she was able to spend time with her friends as they normally do in the evening… So everything had been alright, for now.

However, for one girl, her heart had been absolutely shocked by what she had witnessed earlier. The Princess of the magic dimension - being overcome by a Shadow Virus that she had no control over…

‘Anna’ had been hiding out in a tent outside of Lenfia’s campus. For one, she was technically not a student at the Lenfia she was at right now. She had came prepared for this mission that she promised she would complete, which came with the cost of having to camp until she would have a chance to fulfill her part of the mission before returning home.

That mission being one that she was yet to witness with her very too eyes, minus the warnings that she had been provided before making her departure.

In the tent, the disguise was completely removed. The spell that had hidden her true self was removed, which meant she was in her truest self at that moment. The tent was spacious but hidden around an invisible wall that she had set up, so no one would be able to find or detect the source of a magical being.

‘Anna’ smiled while she sat in the tent, holding onto what looked to be a stuffed animal that she had brought along with her. The stuffed animal, which had been of a dog, sat in her lap while she had been in the process of writing in a journal. Her medium-lengthen blonde hair had been pulled back into a high ponytail, all while she had been wearing a gown to go to sleep in. She rubbed her face for a moment; revealing any last make-up she had put on her face to hide the little freckles that had been on the top of her nose.

In front of her, had been a dairy. The dairy had been one that her mother had given her on her birthday just about a year ago. She was told that on any journey she was to experience, to write down her thoughts. After all, it was information that she would be able to relay to others who may want to hear about her journey of becoming a fairy, or a chance for her to reminiscent of the times of being young and going on her very first mission.

And this mission was the very first mission she had ever had to do.

She laid down with a pen in hand, beginning to write away her thoughts from the entire situation.

_Dear Diary. Book? Journal? Thingy that mama gave me? I dunno, I’m just gonna call you diary for now like a stereotypical girl in one of those cliche, cringe-y movies._

_Today was my first day doing a real mission as an actual fairy. While I know this day was only the beginning of what is to come, I finally got to see all of them in person. It’s so weird to me… Because I’m so used to them treating me like a baby all the time._

_But actually, having all of them treat me as if I were just like them? I thought this mission would’ve been impossible to do the second dad asked me to do it. Mama argued with 'Pops, saying it was dangerous and crazy to send me off... And I told dad he was crazy that he thought me, a fairy in training, could go on such a dangerous mission?_

_But Daddy was serious._

_Then that was when he brought up that stupid oath. The oath of a fairy, to do what was right in order to protect those of the magic dimension. Mom never agreed and still argued with him about it, but at the end of the day…_

_…She needs my help especially. Which was why I finally agreed to go after what happened with her and everyone._

_I miss them all a lot. I miss home, it’s weird to not be calling everyone I know by the names I actually have been calling them for years… But I know once I’ll be able to complete this mission, I’ll be going back home much more experienced compared to before._

_And I’ll finally be able to understand what it was like for them to be fairies in training like me. They talk about it all the time that I have no idea what I’m going to be going through… So I hope by the end of this, I’ll know._

_Welp, I’m tired. I’m sure I’ve got a few busy days ahead of me, especially since the last piece of the Codex was found. I know what to do, but I just can’t let them find out who I am. I promised to my oath, and I’ll be keepin’ that oath right in my heart._

_I’m scared though… But as mama told me, all of our hearts are connected in one shape or form. I know she’s here with me and is guiding me through this entire process._

_That’s all for now, Diary-Journal thingy. Signing off._

The book was closed after the girl had finished writing the details of what she wanted to get out of her chest. Her mother was right… Writing out all of her feelings in the moment made her feel better about herself. She couldn’t tell anyone how she was feeling right then and there without exposing the truth, and she had to get through this mission with no hints whatsoever as to who she was.

There could be no risks at all.

The girl placed the diary into her bag as she reached over for the lantern that was serving as her source of light. She flicked it off, now crawling underneath the covers of the sleeping bag she had. In her arms, she held onto her stuffed animal closely; looking at a picture she had taped up to the wall of the tent.

The image had been of her entire family… Everyone, all together with her on her birthday, celebrating. Beside her, had been her father and mother, who had been posing for the image as well. Her father who had been wearing a goofy hat and fake mustache to be the weird one, all while her mother was holding onto her in a tight hug.

She closed her eyes after a moment; feeling her body relax as she whispered underneath her breath,

_“…Spokoynoy Nochi (Goodnight), mama… papa.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YATTA! We've made it to the next chapter! This one I actually was really excited to write, because things get DARK. Extremely dark. 
> 
> This is also where you guys will have the chance to meet the new mystery character! Any hints or guesses so far? If you pay attention to all the signs, you may be able to figure it out. If you pay attention in the earlier chapters as well, there is a lot of other subtle hints too of how she traveled there in the first place.
> 
> Until then, she will remain a mystery until her grand reveal~
> 
> The next chapter will be released 10/17/2020! I do want to do a Halloween chapter in spirits of this month, so the next chapter will be a bit more light-hearted! Keep your eyes out on this page in case I do finish it earlier and upload it. :) 
> 
> See you soon, and thank you for following "The Secret of the Lost Fairy!" <3


	10. A First Hallowen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girl placed the diary into her bag as she reached over for the lantern that was serving as her source of light. She flicked it off, now crawling underneath the covers of the sleeping bag she had. In her arms, she held onto her stuffed animal closely; looking at a picture she had taped up to the wall of the tent.
> 
> The image had been of her entire family… Everyone, all together with her on her birthday, celebrating. Beside her, had been her father and mother, who had been posing for the image as well. Her father who had been wearing a goofy hat and fake mustache to be the weird one, all while her mother was holding onto her in a tight hug.
> 
> She closed her eyes after a moment; feeling her body relax as she whispered underneath her breath,
> 
> “…Spokoynoy Nochi (Goodnight), mama… papa.”

The recovery from the Shadow Virus was deemed a success. The day that it had happened, Natalya was put onto strict bed rest after Professor Ayron had cast the spell on her. She spent the majority of that Monday morning, just waiting in anticipation and anxiety of the news being broken out about the fourth piece of the Codex going missing.

The thing was, the news didn’t spread as quickly as she expected it to. The reason being, that the Headmistress’ meeting with the Ministry of Magix had been extended for a few days. Perhaps they knew that the fourth piece of the Codex was in their possession. Natalya personally didn’t know how, but Radella was a powerful fairy - maybe she could detect it.

The bad news of it is though, that she couldn’t talk to the Headmistress at all when she needed in her a time of need. Advice on how to handle the situation, what she could do about it, and how she could stop the Dark Lord from accomplishing her mission.

These were just some of the few thoughts that had filled her mind while laying in that bed for the remainder of the day.

The thing was that her time of resting only became ten times worse when she had gotten a certain phone call from someone. While she had told her friends to not tell anyone about what had happened with her and the Shadow Virus - eventually, someone would accidentally spill.

And that spill was directly from Gilbert when Alfred had asked how Natalya was doing upon his return to UHB.

The thing was that Gilbert had kept his mouth shut for a good few minutes. The thing was that Alfred had been pestering him, demanding an answer to know how his girlfriend was. While Natalya took a priority as technically the Princess of the magic dimension, Alfred was the Prince of Eraqion… Gilbert was technically still serving him, despite being his best friend.

And so, the truth broke out.

Natalya felt like she had gone through the longest lecture of her entire life when Alfred called and asked to chat with her. It wasn’t a lecture where he was yelling at her per se, but more or less, extending his concern to her. He was already scared enough after she had gotten hurt by the terrorists, but the fact that a dark virus managed to turn her into this - evil, deadly person? It was absolutely horrific to him.

What if the spell wasn’t fully out of her body? His fear was what took over the most of that phone call, which was why Natalya had consistently reassured him that she was going to be okay. She was on bed rest for now, but if he wanted to come and visit Lenfia to see her, he was always welcome to. Plus, she wouldn’t be opposed to it at all, seeing that she really needed him in this time of need.

She was in a position of unsureness about what to do. The Dark Lord had the four pieces of the Codex. The Headmistress wasn’t there. She was put on strict bed rest until the nurse of Lenfia’s infirmary fully determined that the Shadow Virus was completely out of her body… She felt like nothing seeing that she couldn’t help at all.

The fortunate part about the entire situation, however, was that she was allowed to return to classes the following day. Even though her mind and body were exhausted from the dark spell, she did have the permission to proceed with going to her Tuesday classes as normal.

Then came along her Wednesday classes, her Thursday classes, then her Friday classes…

It was the last day of the month. This also means that in a matter of a week or so, they would all be having midterms for the semester. Midterms at Lenfia as she had learned the previous year, were ten times harder than finals. At least, that was what she full-heartedly believed, seeing that she struggled a lot during her first midterms to pass with an A.

The final day of the month also meant that it was an interesting day, It was Halloween. Well, for those on Earth, October 31st was a momentous holiday where humans would dress up in costumes to have their fun, get candy, pull pranks, and enjoy the day of just horror.

This didn’t exist at all in the magic dimension.

Going to class on Halloween… All Natalya could imagine was how it was before she left for Lenfia. At her school, people would be messing around and wearing costumes. While Halloween wasn’t very popular in Moscow, it was a holiday that had slowly adapted from America to Russia. Not everyone celebrated - this being her family included - but in the past, she always admired seeing on the city streets the different, unique costumes that people would come up with.

The most she ever got was wearing a ghost headband when working the bakery in the evenings after school, that was it.

How much she missed Earth… It almost made her sad walking into her first class of the morning where she, Florentyna, Tatyana, Monika, Mei, and Elizabeta, were all expected to give a speech about Earth.

As midterms were approaching, students of six would be working on second-year group projects. Seeing that they were all rooming together and all second years, it made sense that they could work as a team to complete this project. Today, they were all scheduled to give a presentation in front of their class as a progress update on how the development of research was going.

In this case, their group topic had been all about the different environments on Earth. Not just nature, but sociological, psychological - and even sociable wise. All different environments that they as magical beings weren’t probably used to seeing that they had magic to rely on everything. The perfect part was that Natalya had grown up on Earth her entire life - so she would know exactly what they needed to do.

The group of six had been lined up in the front of the lecture hall. In front of them, their Professor had been sitting there with a notepad and pair of glasses. Polonium was the one administrating the progress report, so after writing down the names of who was presenting, he had reached for his stopwatch with a timer to time how long the girls did to finish their presentation, “And your time… Begins now, ladies. Let’s hear your pitch and progress.”

Tatyana took a step forward when they were given the green light to proceed with their explanation. She cleared her throat and opened up the binder she had in her hands; before making direct eye contact with her peers in the audience, “As a group, we’ve come to the mutual agreement that for our second-year project, we would focus our research on the environments on Earth. Without the presence of magic, these humans would be ordinary to understand, especially from the perspectives of not having to rely on magic as we all do.”

In the midst of their explanation, the Professor rose a brow in interest. Now, he was intrigued.

There was one person though who was more intrigued, as well as amused than him. Anna, who had been sitting in the back of the hall, felt her eyes widen at the mentioning of Earth.

Earth… The fact that they were studying about it made so much sense. The confidence that Tatyana had in her tone of voice when she expressed it too — did Natalya tell her how to pitch it? Because it was a really good pitch coming from someone like her as the fairy of nature. ‘Anna’ had her experiences with Earth, but she kept her mouth shut for the sake of hearing more about their research.

“As the objective of this project is to discover the benefits of dimensions and planets,” Mei spoke as a follow-up to Tatyana’s statement. There was a smile on her face while she held her notes, not reading from the page, but she had them just in case there was questions from the Professor, “We decided that Earth would be perfect because the unique part is that there is no magic. That means humans these live completely different as us, which is why we hypothesize that they behave differently than us… Natalya doesn’t count though because she was a late bloomer to the magical being party, though.”

Laughter erupted from the audience of students as this was said. It was true. While Natalya did grow up on Earth, she wasn’t fully human. She was a magical being that didn’t discover her true self until years later. Regardless of the fact, Professor Polonium pushed up his glasses and lowered the quill he had been using to take down notes, “And, what do you exactly believe is beneficial on Earth, minus the neglect of magic?” If there was one thing Professors loved to do, it was to push their students, “So you’re saying that even though Natalya is from Earth, this has nothing to do with her experience, _right?”_

The group wasn’t laughing nor didn’t seem phased at all by the pressuring question. Even Natalya, who had technically called out about her being from Earth, had no reaction to that response. They were serious about the proposal, which definitely caught the Professor’s attention.

“Again, Professor. This is about how _humans_ behave, _not_ magical beings on Earth,” Elizabeta interrupted now on behalf of the group; reading directly from her binder in case she had to prepare for any further questions. But the Professor was expecting an answer to the question, so she was providing it,

The thing was, the Professor noticed her looking directly at the binder when she spoke. He shook his head and snapped his fingers; resulting in a spark of magic to form from his fingertips, The binder that Elizabeta held in her hands was immediately shut closed.

However, he hadn’t just cast a spell on her binder. All of the binders that the girls held, were all entirely shut, startling them right on the hot seat of the presentation.

“In your _own_ words, Elizabeta,” The Professor was strict with his guidelines. For one thing, none of them hadn’t been reading off of their notes - just using it as a form of reminders in case they forgot something. The binders were shut tight, which meant that there was no way they’d be able to open it unless they used magic.

Elizabeta swallowed for a moment and placed her binder down on a nearby table, since well if she couldn’t use it anymore - may as well go and speak in her own words. She had no idea how she was going to explain it, so she simply just went for it, “We all are used to having magic in our lives.” She began to explain, “Magic for cleaning, healing, and even now in our classroom we’re learning about magic,” 

“Our project would not only revolve on studying the differences humans and magical creatures have,” Monika had continued from where Elizabeta had left off, “But we plan to experience this as well with cutting all of our magic off. Our only source of getting different tasks done is what the environment will provide to us. Whether it be products that have been already manufactured or from nature itself, we hypothesize that being experienced to these new behaviors is something that future guardian fairies should know.”

In the middle of Monika’s explanation, Natalya hadn’t been paying attention as much. When it was her time to speak, then she would speak. What she wasn’t expecting though was to feel her phone vibrate in the middle of their proposal. So while the Professor had been focused on Monika and Elizabeta, she had quickly taken it out to have a quick glance at the message she had received.

It was extremely unprofessional and rude to do such a thing, but she did it quickly enough to see what exactly it was. She swore she had the damn phone on silence, so hopefully, it wasn’t something like a news notification that they were all doomed because of the codexes being gone.

However, to her dismay, this wasn’t the case.

Her eyes widened upon seeing the notification. It wasn’t any message - it was an email, linking her to an invitation to a party.

An invitation to specifically a Halloween party on Earth. This was when reality had hit her across the face. While she knew today was Halloween, she didn’t pay too much attention to it. After all, no one in the magic dimension celebrated, so why would she even have to bother with doing such a thing? The thing was, with it being Halloween - people on Earth were expecting to see her.

Natalya slipped the mobile device back into her pocket and turned to face Mei, who was now continuing off from what Monika had been saying since the Professor had asked another question.

“And with each of your powers,” Professor Polonium motioned to the girls now, not even noticing that Natalya had glanced at her phone, “How do you exactly hope to enhance them?”

“With my powers of music,” Mei had spoken out first as she transitioned the audience’s attention to the PowerPoint that Florentyna opened up, “I plan to figure out if there’s a spiritual connection between the music on earth and music here. On Earth, there’s a certain genre of music that’s said to bring some sort of connection… Like, love for example,” The fairies at the desks leaned over in interest, since all fairies enjoyed hearing about love.

“Hey,” Natalya had leaned over to Florentyna who was in front of the computer, controlling their presentation as Mei’s talking transitioned into Elizabeta talking, “We were invited to a party on Earth in my home city.”

“Holy shit, really?” Florentyna whispered back as she had clicked a button to go to Elizabeta’s slide; not expecting to hear such a thing at all to come from Natalya, to say the least.

“On Earth, there are many forms and bodies of water,” Elizabeta had explained in her calm, casual tone like she normally would, “My goal is to specifically connect with the life underwater. On my home planet, my powers enable me to have contact with mermaids and other magical creatures, but on Earth, it’ll be a new opportunity to connect with creatures of the water who don’t possess any magic.”

The presentation continued on. The thing was that now that Natalya had passed the message onto Florentyna of what was going on, she began the trail of the message to the other members of the group when the Professor wasn’t focused on them, nor were they speaking.

Even those in the audience weren’t phased when Florentyna had leaned forward to whisper something to Mei once she finished speaking. “So like,” Florentyna whispered in a very low, voice, “Natalya said she got an invite to a party tonight, and we’re all invited to go.”

Mei’s eyes widened when she heard this and shot a look at Florentyna. A party? She didn’t remember the last time she went to a party. On Earth too? It was the perfect opportunity for her portion of the project to experience what the music was like on the planet! Plus, there was no need for going to any sketchy clubs after last time’s incident, “I am so down for that.”

Another press of a button on Florentyna’s end of the monitor, which now went into Natalya’s slide of the proposal of their project.

“The power of the dragon flame and heart of ice,” The Professor commented when seeing the details on the PowerPoint just before Natalya began to speak. Natalya had been a very special fairy, seeing that she was the last individual from their capital planet of the magical dimension to still be alive, “And someone who has grown up on Earth. I’m curious about what you have to say, Natalya.”

Indeed, it was an interesting perspective. The two ultimate powers of the dimension, living inside her… Yet, her powers had lived on Earth for more than a decade without anyone discovering it until just earlier that year. Students were listening in interest now because people did want to hear what she had to say.

For Anna especially, she looked right at Natalya. Her head had been resting in the palm of her hand, tilted slightly since she wondered what Earth did exist like with the dragon flame and heart of ice existing in a world of no magic for so long.

“Well… You see Professor, I don’t have a guaranteed answer,” Natalya responded, unaware that the rest of the girls beside her were spreading the message along about the party she had received the invitation to. The message was being passed one by one, all thanks to Flroentyna beginning the whisper trail, “My powers aren’t based on elements of fire and ice… But, more of a _spiritual_ sense since it was the dragon flame and heart of ice that birthed the magical dimension…. Which is why I’ve decided that I would focus on the religious aspects on Earth.”

“Religion?” This caught the Professor’s attention for sure. No one talked a lot about religious magic in the dimension, so it was an interesting take that he definitely wanted to hear more about, “Go on.”

“….On Earth, there are many individuals who believed how Earth was created. Whether it be by science or God, no one exactly knows,” Natalya explained as she maintained a firm grip on her now closed binder, “What we all know… Or, so I’ve come to learn this far on my journey of learning about myself, was that the great dragon with its flame and heart of ice was what created the magical dimension, and specifically gave my birth family the decision of who would be the sole protector of this power. I’d like to compare the history of our dimension with Earth’s.”

Her explanation was very intriguing. A sensitive topic for most, since religion wasn’t really big in Magix unless it was on a planet that had religion very well known to its culture and society. Anna found herself grinning in response when hearing the answer to the question. It was so interesting to hear about how the dragon flame and heart of ice is similar on Earth…

…Compared to what she had been told many times about it outside of her mission.

Natalya’s speech continued on with the further explanation, which also came to the continuation of the message. This time, Mei had leaned forward to whisper near Elizabeta, who also had been listening closely to Natalya,“We got invited to a party on Earth,” When Elizabeta had heard this, she practically choked on her breathing slightly, “Something about Halloween with music, dancing, and all that crazy stuff.”

“That sounds amazing,” Elizabeta whispered back in response while keeping her eyes focused on the other who was speaking on behalf of their project still, “A risk I’d be willing to take for some fun.”

The explanation eventually came to an end by Natalya, where she waited for the Professor to provide some feedback. He had written down some notes about his thoughts, before clearing his throat and lowering his glasses.

“That’s a very unique way to go on with the project,” The Professor was in favor of what Natalya had been exactly planning to do, “I’ll give you the green light, but make sure you cite all your sources - all from Earth, and here in this dimension now,” He began before the presentation had transitioned to Florentyna to share how she’d be using her powers for this exact research.

“Okay so like,” Florentyna stepped away from the podium where she had been controlling the presentation; looking at the Professor with a determined smile to her expression, “On Earth, the sun varies between different times. It’s the same case for the magical dimension,” She explained, “My research isn’t gonna be like, about the Earth’s sun, but mainly about the time differences with each dimension.“

Elizabeta leaned over to Monika now, since she was the last fairy of the group to get news to the message,“So, we were invited to a party,” She first began, which resulted in the blonde’s eyes to widen before looking at the other. A party? Her eyes had widened and her face lit up in excitement at just hearing the words. This was a bad idea since one thing that Elizabeta _didn’t_ know and the rest of the girls did know, was how excited Monika became about big events, “Something about dressing up and having good food on Earth. You down?—”

“A party!?” Monika had blurted out loud in the middle of Florentyna explaining her proposal, “I haven’t gone to a party in years! When is it? Oh, I don’t know what to wear! Natalya, what kind of outfits do you think would be good to wear at a party on Earth?”

Paled expressions immediately formed on all of the girls. Even Florentyna couldn’t help but choke in the middle of her explanation, unsure of how the heck she was going to pick up where she left on with the Professor now looking at Monika with his brows risen in amusement. Even Anna, who was still sitting afar, gasped and brought her hands to her mouth with her eyes widened.

Well, that was the icing on the cake of getting in trouble for being distracted during a progress-report presentation.

The second Monika had asked a direct question to Natalya, her face had become the palest. This was not the scenario she had in mind when telling others about the party they were invited to… But, then again, she should take the blame seeing that she forgot about Monika’s behavior when it came to exciting things like this.

_“A party on Earth, eh?”_

Professor Polonium couldn’t help but to snicker and rest his chin in the palm of his hand. He was smirking in amusement. They were busted now, especially since no fairies weren’t allowed to visit other planets during school hours or after curfew! He could easily snitch to the Headmistress, and that wasn’t something that Natalya nor the rest of the fairies wanted.

However, his response was much different compared to what the girls had expected. He sat back in his chair with his arms crossed, giving them a serious expression now with a risen brow, “Sounds like an opportunity to begin your research for this project then, ladies.”

“…Y-Yeah!” Florentyna immediately responded to the Professor’s statement with a nervous chuckle since no one was talking after Monika’s sudden burst of excitement seeming to catch everyone’s attention. Even Monika had her mouth covered with her hand, holding her breath, “I-It’s on the weekend, so not tonight. Nope, absolutely not tonight. Right, Natalya?” She began, glaring at her friend to say something.

“Uh… Yes, it’s on the weekend,” Natalya slowly brought a hand to her neck and nervously rubbed it. If she said it was on the weekend, then their Professor wouldn’t give them a hard time since they’d be spending it doing research about earth rather than the school week.

“Perfect,” Their Professor nodded and held his hand up to snap his fingers. The presentation and monitor that once had been in front of Florentyna and behind the row of girls immediately disappeared.

Were they done for? Seeing that the presentation was forced to be put away when they weren’t even finished talking - that’s all the Professor needed. He got enough details on his end for the Progress report, thus leading for him to move them all back to their seats.

_“I expect to see the first draft of your research packet about Earth first thing on my desk Monday morning, then.”_

If there was one thing the group wasn’t expecting, it was that. Everyone stared at Monika, whose face was entirely bright red from her excitement getting to the best of her. It happens, and nothing much could be done about it. The thing was that while it was a huge moment where they thought they were done for, Monika set them up for an opportunity of indeed getting their project done…

…An opportunity that the Professor actually gave them the go-ahead to do and visit Earth.

The remainder of that class, to say the least, was awkward. More or less, more presentations went ahead to explain their details and what exactly they’d be researching. Even Anna, who had been in a group randomly assigned due to her being new on campus, she got the chance to present as well. However, her group’s topic wasn’t as interesting as the one about Earth. So while the Professor did give them the green light, part of her did feel bad because the truth was, everything was a lie.

A lie about her. A lie about being a student. She was just thankful the plan seemed to continue working in her favor until she could do the main part of her mission as to why she was there in the first place.

The hour passed quickly, and soon, the students were let go for the day. A long class full of presentations and feedback for second-year students. While it was tiring, at least the progress report would be done. The actual midterm would be ten times harder, of course, seeing that each group would have to showcase their physical skills in combat in front of not only the Headmistress but the board of faculty to determine if they were ready for finals in December.

The group of friends had made their way back to their suite, all silent. While no one talked about Monika’s outbreak, they all did mutually agree with one another that going to this party was a good idea. They could do their research, collect evidence and ingredients to make potions for their midterm, as well as all, having fun at the same time,

The thing was, Natalya hadn’t really properly explained that it was a Halloween party. It was a costume party, and they all needed costumes… Which they all didn’t have.

It wasn’t a big deal. They’d worry about costumes when they were on Earth.

For now, classes were over for the day. That Friday was specifically being held for all students to share the progress of their research projects. Every year had to do it. First years, second years, and third years. In this case, Professor Keldan was in charge of monitoring the first years, Polonium was handling the second-years, and Ayron had been taking care of the third-year students.

Seeing that it was early noon, it was better to plan to leave now than later, since they all still needed to prepare for this party that was to take place at around 7 PM in Moscow.

One by one, each girl had put together a bag of overnight items. The plan that they had all mutually agreed upon was to go to the party, do research, spend one night on Earth at Natalya’s home in Moscow, before returning to Lenfia the next day so they could spend the entire weekend preparing the research packet for Polonium.

“At least he’s giving us the weekend to finish the project,” Elizabeta couldn’t help but comment as the group of girls had already walked out of the second-year dorms at this point. Each of them had been carrying a small overnight bag, all while making their way to the courtyard of the school.

The thing was that as they were walking, they hadn’t even noticed another individual was following closely. Not too closely, but close enough so she could keep her eyes on them. Behind them, all of their bonded Pixies had joined them, since if they were sleeping on Earth, there was no way they could be left alone in the suite for an entire night.

Pixies were like children. They could get into mishap if they were left alone - that was just the reality of it.

“Are you sure this is a good idea to go, Lizzy?” Rani had flown in front of Elizabeta in concern. If any fairy was about to do something wrong, any Pixie automatically became worried and wanted to focus on doing what was right, versus wrong, “You could be punished!”

“Relax, we’ll be only gone for one night,” Mei reassured the pixies and reached over to pull Rani into a close hug, which got her to calm down, “We don’t have any other homework we have to get done either. So once we’re back, we’ll all be in study mode.”

_“…What about Alfred?”_

The question that came from Homura resulted in Natalya to feel her heart drop. Damn, the Pixie got her in a tough spot. She told Alfred that she was on bed rest for the day but attending classes, so he wouldn’t be coming by… But still, he did advise that she follow what the nurse said and wait to do anything unless she was given the okay to go. Homura immediately flew in front of Natalya who was silent, with her arms crossed and eyes narrowed, “Did you tell him you were going to this party?”

An eye roll came from Natalya with a heavy sigh. She knew that her Pixie was only up her ass about this because of Alfred’s concern. And while it would be good to give him a heads up, she didn’t want to make him worry too much. The man had anxiety, she had anxiety - and double anxiety meant more chaos for all of them.

“He’s only worried because he doesn’t want me to be under Demande’s possession again.” Natalya explained to the pixie as the group eventually had made it to an open area outside of their campus, “I’ll call him before we go to the party just to let him know I went home and am with my family. I’m not lying about that, right?

About a good fifty feet away from them, Anna, who had been hidden behind a tree, could hear the conversation that was taking place. To further hide her disguise of her true self, today her hair had been pulled back into a ponytail, she still wore a bit of make-up and glasses, as well as had been wearing more prettier clothing that she usually would wear.

“Yeesh…” She whispered underneath her breath just at the words that were coming from Natalya. Something about seeing how she talked about Alfred made Anna want to laugh, but part of her held back while she smiled.

_“…good to see she’s hasn’t changed at all.”_

Her whispering was nowhere near loud enough for the fairies ahead to hear her. She kept her distance, but couldn’t help but to notice that they were all grouped in a circle. Wait, when Monika had accidentally blurted out about Earth, didn’t Florentyna say they were leaving tomorrow?…

…or were they actually leaving today?

Regardless of the fact, the Pixies were still in Natalya’s face out of care for the entire situation, “You’re not allowed to use your Charmix though, Natalya,” Meri had flown up to her, showing deep concern as well.

This was true. Since her being under the possession of the Dark Lord, the only times she was able to go into her fairy form was when a Professor was around her. That way if something had happened to her, they’d be able to take immediate control over her. So far that entire week since the incident, when she transformed in class, nothing happened. If she was to on Earth, which she didn’t think she’d have to, she believed she’d be fine.

“Don’t worry about it, Meri.” Natalya reassured the pixies before giving a small smile at them. It was a fake smile, but only so the Pixies, as much as she adored them, could back off for at least a second, “We’re still going and nothing is going to stop us at this point, but I’ll take care of my protective boyfriend, don’t worry. You and the rest of the pixies though are absolutely welcome to come too.”

The group of fairies and pixies now watched as Florentyna stepped in the middle of them in their small circle. While Natalya could’ve easily opened up a portal, it was best that she avoided using any magic at all costs. So, Florentyna would be the one to open the portal.

She was the second one who knew the exact spell to open up a portal to Earth, which was why she would be the one to teleport them all to the planet. With her hands up in the air, a scepter had appeared in the shape of sun as she slammed its end down on the ground and proceeded to shout;

_“Charmix!”_

It only took a few seconds or so for her entire appearance to change. The outfit that she once wore, which had been a light-green blouse with white flower patterns, some jean shorts, and boots, transitioned into her normal fairy attire. Her form consisted of an orange top that had a sleeve only over one shoulder, orange shorts that sparkled along with the top, light blue cuffs around her wrists, orange sparkling boots, her hair into low pigtails and a hairband on top of her head while wings formed behind her.

“Alright ladies,” Florentyna spoke loud and clear while holding the scepter; giving eye contact with one of them. The scepter was once again in the air as a bright glow formed on the top of it. All it took was once swing of it for a bright light to form all around them; allowing the spell to take its enchantment by teleporting them to the planet, _“To Earth, we go!”_

It was quick. A flash of light surrounded all six of them and the pixies, and suddenly, they were gone.

Anna stared from the tree when this had happened. She stepped out, revealing herself before walking over to the empty spot where they were all standing. The glasses she wore were removed while she placed them into her book bag, smiling a bit as she reached into her bag to look out a small book.

This book is a list of spells that she was given before she had made her departure to Lenfia.

“Let’s see…” She hummed for a moment, looking through the pages quickly, “…Quickest spell to Earth… I wonder if the same one works like back home…”

The girl was silent as she read through the pages. When she had managed to locate the exact one she was looking for, she smirked and held her hand out. A bright light flashed in the palm of her hand now while she took a moment to focus her magical energy on the spell. Before soon, she spoke in an enchanting language,

_“Detrahet me in terra!”_

* * *

As always with the spell, it brought the girls directly to the very same place where Natalya and Florentyna had met for the first time. It was in a very secluded area of a park in Moscow, that way no human would be able to spot them if they were using magic. Plus with their arrival to Earth having Florentyna still in her fairy form, she’d have a private place to change back into her human form without getting caught.

After all, one of the biggest rules for Earth was that they no way used any sort of magic. Only for emergencies, it would be fine, but for now, there could be no risks of exposing it. Especially after the last time when Mei and Elizabeta almost got themselves caught. If Natalya hadn’t been there to use a memory-erasing spell, they all would’ve gotten in so much trouble.

Alas, the group composed themselves together before making their departure from the woods in the park. Natalya was in the lead of bringing them out, since she grew up in the city, after all. The first plan was to go home and begin planning out how this research project would work at the same time of there being a party.

The thing was that while this wasn’t new for her with Halloween, it _was_ new for everyone else.

“Wait wait wait - what’s the big deal with people being in costumes?” Florentyna couldn’t help but ask out of pure curiosity. She was the only fairy who’s been to Earth a few times, but this was her first time hearing this whole holiday about dressing up and scaring people. It sounded like something witches would do, in all truths, “Sounds like some dark magic, to be honest.”

“Not necessarily,” Natalya had been the one to respond first while scrolling through her cellphone that was meant for Earth only. She had been trying to get in contact with her siblings to let them know that she was home and planned to stop by before the said party with her friends, “There are different countries on Earth.”

“Countries?” Monika peeked over now in slight interest.

“What’s a country?” Homura flew over in front of her bonded fairy in curiosity as well.

That’s right - there weren’t any countries at all in the magical dimension. There were only worlds with certain districts - that was it. So a country must’ve sounded completely foreign to the group. There were planets with Kingdoms, some governments - but it was entirely different from Earth. On Earth, there were world leaders, Presidents, governments - all confusing things. But one thing that could be made in the agreement was the fact that both people on Earth and the magic dimension hated was politics.

It was the one thing Natalya felt appreciative of when she first arrived at the magic dimension as a first-year fairy.

“Well,” Natalya turned to face the rest of the group as she closed her phone and slipped it into her pocket, “We’re in the country of Russia. It’s like a… planet’s Kingdom in the magical dimension. Russia, in this case, is one of the largest countries in the world. But one thing about countries is that it’s all different cultural wise,”

The fact that everyone had been paying attention to her closely for detail was astonishing. Was everyone really fascinated to know more about Earth? They all lived together for an entire year - minus Elizabeta, of course - and she talked about Earth all the time. Yet, there was still something fascinating about being there?

“Our culture in Russia isn’t to dress up and celebrate. Yes, we’re going to a costume party, but that’s rare to see here,” Natalya explained and continued walking ahead on the sidewalk they had been on in the city, “Costume parties were adapted from America, which is another country West from here. They celebrate Halloween like it’s some sort of religious holiday. But here, it really isn’t. I’ve studied abroad there when I was in primary school, so I know.”

All of the girls were amazed by just learning the new information from Natalya. Even Tatyana herself, who had taken out her notebook from her bag and started taking notes. If there were new areas around Earth that they could visit and explore for their research project, it would be absolutely perfect. It also gave her the opportunity to examine how nature differed in different parts of the world.

“So, where exactly is this party?” Elizabeta couldn’t help but ask while walking beside Natalya. That’s right, she didn’t really give much detail about where they were going, “Do you know who’s hosting it?”

At least they asked her now and not at the party because that certainly would be embarrassing. Natalya let out what sounded like a nervous chuckle before turning her head away, unsure of how to describe the host…

…The host was someone that had known her for years. A person she actually went to school with before she left for Lenfia. Not necessarily a friend, but one that… Well, the two never got along with each other.

“Ah… Well, I wouldn’t consider them a friend.” Natalya murmured with a slight eye roll, “In fact, I’m pretty sure he never really liked me, so I don’t know why he invited me.”

A person who didn’t like Natalya, inviting her to their party? This didn’t sound right at all. Even for the Pixies who were staying close to the fairies, were all intrigued at the explanation that came from the girl. Mei flew up first to Natalya, tilting her head to the side with concern on her expression, “Something about that doesn’t sound right to me at all,” She expressed while the rest of the pixies were nodding in agreement. If a person didn’t like Natalya, why would they invite her to an event anyway? “I think whoever this person is should be honest if they didn’t like you.”

“Well, the reality is that a lot of people I went to school with didn’t like me,” Natalya shrugged and approached a crosswalk where there had been a button. She pressed the button and turned to face the Pixies, “And they all probably still don’t like me because I got to graduate early and go to college with better people.”

As the girls stood there waiting for the light to change for the crosswalk, they watched as lines of cars drove by. This was very normal for those who weren’t from the planet… There were crosswalks too in the magic dimension, after all.

Tatyana cleared her throat after putting away her notebook from taking notes at the discussion of different countries on Earth, “So. It’s a costume party, yes?” She smiled over at Natalya, “What should we plan on wearing, then? I didn’t bring a costume.”

“Nothing too flashy, for goodness sake,” Monika had responded, “The last thing I want is every guy to go up to us offering dick.”

What sounded like laughter came from Florentyna the second she said this. A glare was cast over at her by the group - even the Pixies. She blushed and covered her mouth, “Ignore ‘lil ol’ me, I’m just amused!” She began before pausing, then looking over at the group with a large smirk on her lips. It was a thinking look for sure, “I actually have an idea~ And it involves a little magic.”

Mei immediately leaned over and shot a look right at Florentyna the second magic was mentioned. Especially since they were on Earth and she learned the hard way? No way, “No magic, remember?” There was one big rule about traveling to Earth, which was strictly prohibited any kind of magic at all. If a regular human were to see it, that would be chaos about to ensue. It already almost happened with her and Elizabeta, “We’d get in so much trouble if we did.”

“Mhm, no magic Florentyna,” Natalya agreed with the other fairy while gazing towards the light, just waiting patiently at this point for it to change red so the cars could stop and they could cross, “The school doesn’t know we’re out. And we can’t let what happened last time happen again,” As she said this, she glared directly at Elizabeta and Mei who had used magic on their first trip to earth.

All of them were so lucky that none of them got caught. The only ones who remember from that day were them, as well as for Natalya’s family.

Eventually, the light did change to red which signified the group to begin walking. But as they were about to take their first steps, Natalya could immediately sense that another car was coming at their direction. She held out an arm instinctively to the group to stop walking, and as she had predicted, a car immediately stopped in front of them.

It was a car that she immediately recognized, but wasn’t phased at all by the sight of it.

The back window began to lower itself down. The first thing that Natalya had made contact with the individual inside this said vehicle had been the person’s green eyes and devilish looking smile. The glare that came from Natalya was enough for the girls who stood behind her and pixies trying to see who exactly it was.

_“Oh Natalya, you’re back so soon from reform school!”_

The voice had begun as a male, just around the same age as the girls standing on the street, leaned out the window and wanted to get a better look at the girl he had gone to school with, “I saw you RSVP’d to my party.”

No one knew who he was. But clearly based on the way he had been reacting with Natalya, the group of fairies and pixies were able to put two and two together that they knew each other. The mentioning of a party as well was enough to hint that maybe this was the host of the party they were invited to.

And indeed, they were correct.

“…Hi, Feliks.” Natalya sighed heavily and crossed her arms, now raising a brow in slight interest at the coincidence that he had found them about to cross the street. Perfect timing, she had to admit, “Yes, I did. In the invitation you mentioned, I could bring friends, so I figured I’d go and my pluses.”

“… _Pluses_?” Feliks’ eyes widened and looked at the group behind Natalya. A gasp was followed and he soon rested his chin in the palm of his hands, “So these guys go to reform school with you?”

“…Reform school?” Mei leaned over to Tatyana and whispered, “What’s that?”

It was better than if the girls didn’t ask any questions about what ‘reform school’ meant. What it meant on Earth was another way of describing a school that took care of children who needed to be disciplined or had been suspended multiple times in their primary school. That was the big rumor that took place with Natalya, after all.

Since her leaving the school she had previously gone to, which she had been known for being a top student at _and_ receiving an academic scholarship to go, no one expected for her to leave the beginning of their fourth and final year. Everyone she had gone to this school with was already in their first year of colleges, so while Natalya assumed most of them would be gone - it seemed most of them were coming to this party tonight.

This party was not only a high school reunion of hell but one she could only imagine the questioning stares she may get being there. She could only imagine the other lies Feliks must’ve told her fellow peers about her.

The truth was, none of it was a reform school. And she couldn’t even tell her fellow peers why she really left, or even _who_ she truly was.

Florentyna though didn’t let that phase her since she had no idea what reform school was. All she was interested to know was if this was the person who didn’t like Natalya, “We all go to Lenfia College for the smartest individuals in America,” She smiled and held out a hand to the man in the vehicle, “A pleasure to meet you. My name’s Florentyna — Natalya’s best friend. We met in Class A, which is for those who topped in entrance exams. Where did you two meet?”

The entire group stared at Florentyna as she had spat out that blunt lie in front of the man. None of that was true at all. Well, the best friend part and going to school together was true, but ‘Class A’? They knew Natalya was smart, but Florentyna was nowhere near the kind of smarts that Natalya was!

“…Oh, you’re all from America. I see.” A small eye-roll came from Feliks the second this was said. Now it made sense while he stared at the hand, not touching it at all, “We went to school together until the entire class found out she was graduating early,” He explained. He was believing the stupid lie! Natalya couldn’t help but glance over at Florentyna; astonished that her lies were actually being believed in the first place, “A pleasure to meet you as well. My name is Feliks.”

“You must be the host of this party, I’m assuming?” Elizabeta spoke up now so Florentyna could stop lying to his face. She was taking it too far at this point, but everyone knew this wasn’t surprising at all to see, “Well, we look very forward to attending.”

“Mhm,” Feliks pulled his hand back now from the individual’s he had shaken and sat back down in his seat, “Make sure to dress nice tonight. I don’t want to be the host that comes with an embarrassing group,”

When he had said this, all of the girls’ jaws had dropped since it was a response they all weren’t expecting to hear. What was with the sudden insult? Embarrassing group? None of them had done anything to him - yet, he had the audacity to say such a thing?

By the time they could say anything back though, the man had already rolled up his window and snapped his fingers, which was when the driver in the vehicle had taken off. This had left not only a face-palming Natalya, but a group of fairies who all looked disgusted and pixies who were flying around trying to get their bonded fairies to not look as angry.

“He makes me want to get into a truck and hit him,” Monika had been the first to say with her hands balled in fists.

“Who does he think he is?” Elizabeta scoffed and crossed her arms, “The Duke of this country? His attitude stinks just like his damn perfume!”

“Well, one day he’ll know exactly who he messed with!” Florentyna huffed and glared at the direction of where the car had driven off to, “He thinks he’s some sort of, what, Prince of this city?! I’m an ACTUAL Princess, thank you!”

Homura had come out of where the rest of the pixies had been hiding during that moment and flew in front of Natalya, now resting on the fairy’s shoulder, “I’m sorry, Natalya… But he was really mean by saying that.”

The thing was, Natalya was completely unphased. None of this had bothered her at all, If anything, she felt like she should’ve better prepared her friends for what Feliks was like. He was the one who picked at her for years, came up with rumors about her… And while none of it was true, she never understood why he targeted her.

Perhaps it was jealousy? She had no idea. That was what her father had told her once, seeing that he always started something new about her the second she returned from a tournament for figure skating and she came into the lead. Part of her wished she had never wiped his memory from using her powers in front of him… He looked so shocked when she cast that spell to reverse everyone’s memory.

But alas, her true form and self was a secret that no one on Earth mustn’t ever find out about.

“I told you guys he doesn’t like me,” Natalya once again began to walk across the street after finally waiting for what she considered years. As they walked, she had gently patted Homura’s head with her finger while leading the rest of the group towards the direction of her home, “Don’t take it personally though. What I want to talk about is what the fuck did you say to him, Florentyna? _Class A_?”

When being reminded about what she said, this resulted in Florentyna to laugh to herself while approaching Natalya, “Come on Nat, a little lie isn’t going to hurt anyway,” She had a nervous look to her expression. Natalya looked annoyed, which was a sign that she knew she had messed up, “He kept saying something about a reform school, and I’m sure reform school here isn’t good, so why not brag a little and make him a bit jealous at us?”

“Because I don’t want unnecessary drama to start up,” Natalya responded while reaching into her bag now and fiddling around her keys. The walk from the crosswalk had led them directly to her home now, which she could see that no one was home. Her entire family was at work so that probably was the case. With the keys in her hands, she slipped it through the door and unlocked it, “There are people going to this party who I pretty much went to school with all my life, and the last thing I need is for Feliks to say some stupid lie about us.”

She had every right to be a bit annoyed at Florentyna. After all, lying was something that she wasn’t really fond of doing unless it was necessary. Her friend could have just stayed quiet and let Feliks brag to himself like Natalya had been doing throughout all her years at school. That was why he didn’t like her - because she didn’t see him the same way as everyone did in their class.

Some sort of high-class Prince. When in reality, he was just an asshole.

Florentyna on the other hand thought she was doing a favor. If maybe she bragged in front of the stranger about Natalya, perhaps he would stop talking about this reform school and insulting them to make him look better, and all of this dislike towards each other would simply stop.

When the doors opened, Natalya had led the group inside and closed the door before instructing them all to remove their shoes at the door. Now that they were at her house, there were rules that she had to follow, which meant they all had to follow too.

After they were all situated with their shoes off, they had all conversed into the kitchen where Natalya had put on one of her sister’s aprons and began preparing tea for all of them. Aside from the research project that they had to get data on for Professor Polonium, there was also the fact that they didn’t have costumes yet for this party.

“What if we raid Natalya’s closet and all go as her?” Elizabeta couldn’t help but a joke, which all of the girls couldn’t help but laugh at the statement while Natalya focused on the tea.

“Remember, I’m the one making your tea,” Natalya commented, which Elizabeta paled since, for all she knew, the woman could pour salt into the beverage or something for saying that!

Tatyana though didn’t want Natalya to be making it all by herself. So with wanting to be a good friend, she had assisted with brewing the tea and taking out some mugs from a nearby cabinet, “What about a costume shop?” She had asked as she brought the cups to the table for each girl to grab, along with some cookies for the pixies, “Aren’t there any close by?”

“There are,” Natalya stated as she now brought a full pot of tea to the table. As each fairy was now pouring themselves a cup, she had gone to retrieve some sugar and milk, “But it doesn’t have the best costumes though.”

“Then where are we gonna find costumes in less than four hours?” Florentyna began as she reached for one of the cookies that were being handed to her by Homura, who had been helping Natalya happily with treating the guests in her home before thanking her and taking a bite out of it.

_“Why don’t you just go in your fairy forms?”_

A new voice had filled the room which caught all of the girl’s attention. By just one glance over at the entrance of the kitchen, Natalya’s eyes lit up when seeing a familiar face of a family member. She had stopped what she was doing right there and approached the figure before giving him a tight embrace.

“Papa-“

Vladik smiled at the sight of everyone in his home. He hadn’t been expecting her to be back so soon, but when he had gotten an earlier message about a Halloween party, he figured he would stop by home early to at least say hello.

“I’m sorry to barge in while you ladies are in the middle of talking,” The man had spoken as he had picked up Natalya and spun her, which had the girls laughing as he put her down and practically hugged the young girl tightly, “But I wanted to at least see my little girl before going off to this party.”

Natalya had pulled away from the man now and playfully hit his shoulder, who simply chuckled at his daughter’s behavior, “You told me you were going to be working late, you jerk! Why did you lie to me?”

“Because I wanted to at least surprise you first,” He had begun before approaching the kitchen counter and placing some grocery bags on top of it. This being a major hint that he was offering to cook them all a properly, filling dinner for the evening, “And surprise your friends with some dinner because I know healthy food doesn’t exist at a party.”

“Oh, you’re too sweet,” Florentyna couldn’t help but grin as she took a sip out of her tea, “I’d be down to eat something before we go.”

“Perfect, I’ll start cooking then,” The man approached his daughter once again and placed a kiss on her forehead, before now exiting the room momentarily to put away his coat and retrieve an apron.

Natalya was grateful to have him as a fatherly figure in her life. She had grown up thinking that he was her father by blood… When really, it wasn’t the case at all. He adopted her as a baby with his previous wife who had unfortunately passed away, and he treated her like his own. When she found out for the first time that she was adopted, it was the most life-changing moment she’s ever experienced. What were worst learning about though was that her actual birth father had passed away while trying to protect her, her siblings, and her birth mother.

It was a tragedy, but at the end of the day, she still saw him as her father. The one who taught her everything she knew and the reason she was the person that stood there strong as she could be.

She still didn’t know exactly where her birth siblings were. But, she did learn a few months ago where her mother was and how she was doing after all these years. She was only able to communicate with her mother through her dreams, but this was only when her mother decided that it was the right time to give more clues to Natalya on finding out where her lost siblings were.

“So, I couldn’t help but to overhear something about costumes,” Vadik had spoken out now to the girls who seemed to not only been jumping back and forth about a conversation for a research project they had to get done but also about the party they were attending, “I was serious about you ladies going in your fairy forms. Why not?”

“Because Natalya’s too afraid we’ll get in trouble again,” Elizabeta commented as Natalya rolled her eyes at the other in response, “After that whole incident with those club guys chasing me and Mei” She paused, all while Vladik nodded. He remembered it way too well, especially since it was only a matter of weeks ago, “…Anddd that Natalya was possessed by one of our greatest enemies just a few days ago, and she was told strictly to not use her powers.”

That was right. Natalya was still being on the watch by the nurse at the school since she had been under the Dark Lord’s power. That didn’t seem to phase her father though since he knew that his daughter was okay.

“Then just don’t do magic. If the nurse at your school said that she’ll be okay, I’m not worried about her if she goes into her fairy form.” Her father had continued as he turned to face the girls, who now had been looking at each other with expressions that said that they were unsure if whether or not they should, “You can avoid using magic while you’re a fairy, right? I’ve seen it with Natalya, and it’s a costume party - no one will suspect that you’re all real fairies. On a day such as this one, I wouldn’t even suspect such a thing at all either.”

The man did have a point now that they were all thinking about it. This was coming from an Earthling too, nonetheless. No one would suspect that they were fairies, and if they avoided flying or using any sort of magic… They would be completely safe and fine. It was also easy for them to transform, so there wouldn’t be the hassle of having to search for a costume last minute…

…They were also gorgeous as fairies as well. That was a bonus for them seeing that Feliks told them to show up with something good.

They all believed they would be able to avoid using any sort of magic in their fairy form. Yes, it would be tempting to start flying since after all, they were fairies… But to use magic, especially with knowing the consequences of doing so are, wouldn’t be a problem at all.

There was that idea too that Feliks would get extremely jealous… And if this was an open opportunity to rub it in his face, not directly of course, about how they all were as fairies? In their true nature?  
  
It was a savage idea she liked.

“Alright, alright….” Natalya sighed heavily and lowered her cup of tea before turning to the group.

_“…Let’s do it, then.”_

* * *

A flash of bright light filled the area of the woods when the teleportation spell had come to an end. The light had taken the shape of a human figure, thus allowing for her to step out once she had made contact with the grass.

‘Anna’ had looked around with amazement brought to her face. She couldn’t believe it… The spell in the book actually worked! She didn’t think she’d ever had to use it, but the fact that she had so much experience with Earth, it made sense that the fairies would come here. Natalya was from here… And after that exclamation from Monika earlier in that class, that was enough to pique her curiosity.

Again, she couldn’t allow for herself to get caught. She could keep a distance when it came to spying on the group, but she also had to remember the real reason she was following them in the first place.

And that was to make sure that there truly wasn’t any dark force following Natalya. There might’ve not been and her trip to Earth could’ve been an entire false alarm, but she had to be wary and make sure of it.

Though she wondered… Was Earth the same since the last time she had personally visited the planet?

The girl was silent while she stepped out of the private area of the woods. This spell would directly bring her to that part unless she was brought to the planet through other means of transportation. But for now, she couldn’t risk it. Humans on Earth had no idea that magic existed. She was very well versed and aware of it, so she was being very careful about it.

Stepping out and being exposed to the park that belonged to the city of Moscow had her eyes widen in amazement. It was so weird to be stepping out and seeing the park as it was for the first time. Nothing had changed about it since the time she had last been on Earth with her family. She thought it would’ve been completely different, but she supposed this wasn’t the case.

It made her wonder…

…was the infamous bakery in Moscow the same as well?

Her curiosity began to creep up at her, as well as for her hungry stomach. Maybe she shouldn’t have left with an empty stomach. After all, the consequences of that were beginning to catch up to her real quick. Plus, if she remembered correctly, she knew the direct route to get to this bakery.

Walking along the sidewalks of the park, she had made her way through the city on foot. It was a lot of walking, but she had to admit it was nice to be in an area that she was more familiar in.

After all, she did grow up in the city of Moscow outside of her true birthplace.

A small hum came from her while she walked along, taking note of the buildings and how the people behaved. Everything was still the same. Nothing had changed, which absolutely amazed her. Humans seemed to be completely unaware that magic existed… Yet, she understood why.

Earth was a place where no magic should ever exist. It was considered in the magic dimension - or at least, on her home planet - a place for magical beings to escape in case they didn’t want to be part of a world full of magic. To her, that thought was crazy. She could never imagine a life without her powers or having the ability to transform into a fairy.

But she understood if this was the case for others.

Walking along the streets to get to her prime destination took about ten minutes. She was wary of her surroundings, just to make sure she didn’t accidentally bump into the other fairies. They were probably long gone at the party at that point, which meant she should be in the clear to visit the one shop she wanted to at least go to before returning to the magic dimension.

The shop, which was on an empty street, had been a simple bakery. But it wasn’t any ordinary simple bakery - it was one that she had absolutely loved. The bread, the pirozhkis, the Russian sweets… Gosh, her mouth was just watering at the thought of it by the time she had approached the entrance of it. There was a light on inside, which meant they were still open.

Good, she was glad to see it wasn’t closed despite it being a holiday.

Walking inside, it seemed that only one person had been working inside… Another blonde, who seemed to have been wearing an apron, her hair had been pulled back into a ponytail, as well as had been in the middle of sweeping the floor.

The sound of the bell opening the door immediately caught Anya’s attention the second it opened. She turned her head over, only to be greeted to the bright blue eyes that had belonged to ‘Anna’ at the door, _“Welcome!”_ She smiled while speaking in Russian, and stopped what she was doing. The broom was placed down before she rushed over to the counter where the register was, _“How may I help you?”_

Walking in and seeing Anya there all by herself… The girl was jaw dropped. She had no idea what to say or even do. The thing was, she had been to this shop many times growing up… But, she never expected to see Anya looking the exact same. Nothing was different at all.

Part of her held back for a moment from expressing her excitement. Gosh, it felt so good to be back… Even if it was under different circumstances, ‘Anna’ didn’t mind, “ _P-Privet.”_ Were the first words that managed to come from her. The English that she had been once thinking to herself - was entirely gone. Instead, the girl stood there in front of Anya, looking over the array of desserts and foods before speaking to the other fluently in Russian, _“Yes, uhm… Could I please have two of the beef and cheese pirozhkis, and one of the barankas, please.”_

 _“Certainly.”_ A nod was given by Anya before she turned away, reaching for a pair of tongs and a plastic bag to retrieve the items. As she did so, she couldn’t help but to glance over at the girl. She had no idea who she was, but she seemed to be young, _“You look new. Did you just move here?”_

As the question was asked, ‘Anna’ looked over at the woman and paused for a moment. Technically… No, but she played along for the sake of the act, “ _Uh… Yes!”_ She responded with no hesitation, _“I just moved here from America with my parents. My mother was born in uh… Minsk but grew up in Moscow. She missed home a lot, so my parents figured why not move here.”_

 _“I see, I see.”_ Anya turned herself around and placed the bag onto the counter. As she pressed a few buttons on the register, a price had rung up for ‘Anna’. The girl quickly took note of this and reached into her wallet inside her bag, pulling out the exact change to pay, _“What’s your name? I love getting to know customers whenever I get a chance.”_

The change in rubles was placed in front of Anya after the girl had counted it out. She made sure it was correct before looking at it for her to take, _“Name’s Anna.”_

 _“Anna?”_ Anya paused for a moment while taking the change, giving the girl a small nod of thanks before putting it into the register. After she did so, she had handed over the bag of baked goods to the younger girl, all while taking note of something.

_“…So your name isn’t Anneliese?”_

The girl’s heart dropped the second this was said. She looked at Anya, clearly unsure of what she meant. But all she could do was nervously shake her head in a panic, _“U-Uh, no— I mean— uh—“_

 _“The name on your necklace, dear.”_ Anya chuckled for a moment once the girl had taken the bag of goods. Why did she suddenly look so nervous? _“Is that not your name? Or do you go by ‘Anna’ as a nickname?”_

Nervous laughter came from the girl when she was questioned. The mentioning of the necklace had her eyes widen in the realization that she had forgotten to take it off. No one had noticed it when she was in class earlier, right!? If someone had, maybe they’d say something. But for now, she seemed to be in the clear as she shoved the locket she wore around her neck with the name on it.

 _“I uh, guess you can say that…”_ ‘Anna’ swallowed nervously for a moment while holding onto the bag, feeling at this point, there wasn’t really any reason to hide it. It seemed that Anya believed the whole Anna bit, which she wasn’t complaining at all, _“My family usually calls me ‘Lise, but I like Anna more.”_

 _“A very beautiful name, I love that a lot,”_ Anya chuckled and held out a hand to the girl after the transaction was exchanged, _“And for a girl who knows Russian very well, wow. I can only imagine your English if you’re from America. My name is Anya. Tell your parents to come to visit sometime, I’m sure everyone here would love to meet them. This is a very welcoming community, so we’re always happy to welcome the new faces of customers.”_

The hand that was held out by Anya had the girl hesitate for a moment. She looked at the other and reached for it, giving it a small handshake, “ _T-Thanks.”_ She responded back in the motherland tongue, figuring that she shouldn’t stay there any longer, ‘Anna’ turned herself around and with a smile, gave a nod at the other, _“And thanks for the bread, Anya, Have a good day.”_

 _“You too, dear.”_ A small wave was given by Anya as the girl walked out. Once she did, she went straight back to what she was doing - which was indeed cleaning the shop.

‘Anna’ let out a huge sigh of relief the second the doors of the shop were closed. Just walking away, she swore she could feel her heart beginning to beat more and more out of her chest. That was way too close. And the reason why it all happened was that she had been wearing the necklace her mother had given her - the one that she’s had since she was born.

She stopped around a corner and removed the necklace; shoving it straight into her pocket. For now, she had to keep up with this disguise as ‘Anna’. She’d explore Earth a bit more for the day before trying to find the fairies from Lenfia, but for now…

…all she wanted to was to shove that beef and cheese pirozhki into her mouth with how hungry she was.

* * *

The Russian dinner was absolutely amazing. A filling meal made by a true Russian father who knew how to feed guests and family. It was a very interesting dinner, to say the least, where Vladik had found this the perfect opportunity to discuss all of Natalya’s embarrassing moments growing up. The best part about it for him too was that it wasn’t Alfred for once - so he got to do his proper job as a parent.

To ease her from forgetting the conversations that took place that dinner, Natalya found herself becoming best friends with the bottle of vodka her father had brought out for a shot seeing that none of her friends had seemed to try vodka before.

After all, liquor was also very different in the magic dimension compared to Earth.

The dinner lasted for about an hour before the group had agreed to make their departure. The plan was to get to the party early enough so they could not only adjust and show off their ‘costumes’ but also have time to break away from one another to explore without suspicion. While they were technically there for the party, their research project took a priority over it for now.

When everyone had been all set with support, the transformation sequence into fairies had taken place in the living room of the large home. All it took was for a few seconds for all of the girls to go from their casual clothing to their true forms as magical beings.

Vladik had watched this with a smile on his face, especially when seeing his daughter transform from the simple jeans and long-sleeve she had been wearing into a matching sparkling blue crop-top with a turtle neck and family’s crescent on her bust and skirt, sleeves that only went up to her forearms, blue boots with heels and a gold tiara on the top of her head while wings had revealed itself behind her.

To avoid any sort of attention though while they were all as fairies, Florentyna had snapped her fingers and cloaks had appeared all on their frames now so not only would their appearances be hidden, but they wouldn’t be as visible to the eye in public. Their ‘costumes’ would have grand reveal - but not yet.

For now, a cloak was used to hide their true selves would do while walking out in public just to get to the party.

The thing was, the party wasn’t just at any person’s house. It seemed to be in an abandoned mansion in the woods… At least, which is what the invitation had said.

As the girls left, they went in the direction of the woods that had been in the park. Since they were all by themselves, this was where the fairies had broken the small rule about flying. Even Natalya had agreed to break it too since well, walking on branches in the middle of the night wasn’t the most pleasing thing to be doing.

It was dark out, No one would be able to see them. And thus, one by one, they had jumped into the air along with their bonded Pixies; keeping their eyes up ahead in the woods all while Natalya had led them with her phone out.

“If I knew we were hiking in the middle of the woods, maybe we shouldn’t have transformed in the first place,” Florentyna had begun as the girls had been in the air, hiding in the trees so they wouldn’t be spotted as easily.

The entire time they flew, Natalya had been holding onto her phone which had a GPS with the address already directing them to where this place was, “Relax, we’re almost there. When we’re five hundred feet away, we land on the ground.”

“It feels so… dead here,” Tatyana couldn’t help but comment while looking around nervously. Seeing the trees and flowers surrounded by the night’s darkness wasn’t exactly how she wanted the travels to be. As fairy of nature, she knew they were alive, but it also made her severely uncomfortable.

“Don’t let it bother you too much,” Monika flew up beside Tatyana and took her hand, leading her forward now so they didn’t lose the rest of the group, “It’ll be daytime again soon.”

The trip as an entirety to the said mansion wasn’t long at all. From Natalya’s home, it had to have been at least a half an hour walk… But flying, it was only ten minutes. Just as they agreed, when they were all about five hundred feet away from the said destination, they all lowered themselves to the ground and proceeded with walking from there.

“You know, when I was a baby pixie,” Meri flew in front of the Pixies who had been hiding by their bonded fairies, “There was this story that went around about the four witches who haunted a spooky place on a night like this.”

“F-Four witches!?” Rani had shrieked and flew to hide behind Florentyna’s hair.

“Oh yes.” Meri continued on with her little story, “And it eats pixies and fairies since it absolutely despises any kind of positive magic—”

“—Alright alright alright,” Monika reached over to the Pixie now and covered her mouth since already the rest of the Pixies were becoming scared by her story. The last thing they all needed was for the Pixies flying off from fear, especially when they were in the middle of the woods not knowing where they were, “I understand you and your little creepy stories, but don’t tell it when we’re out here in this darkness.”

“It won’t be any more darkness for long,” Natalya began while the group now approached a pair of closed gates. They weren’t locked, so this had to be the correct place.

She pushed her hands against it so one of them would open. Once it was, they all proceeded inside the mansion gates and approached a door that had much better lighting compared to the front of the house.

“Apparently Feliks rented this entire mansion for this party,” Natalya explained as she snapped her fingers and her phone had vanished. It didn’t go anywhere; just in a safe place in her room so if she needed, she could use magic to have it teleport back to her.

It was at that moment where the sounds of a werewolf howling all met their ears. All of the Pixies once again flew off shrieking in fear, except for Meri of course who went to investigate the source of its sound. When seeing that it was just a speaker at the front of the door, she sighed heavily, “It’s just a trick! Don’t worry! It’s not real.”

“Anything you hear is fake. Trust me,” Natalya reassured the pixies and knocked on the door of the large mansion. When she did this, dust came flying from on top of them as the fairies held their hands over their heads so the dirt wouldn’t land on them.

“I have to say,” Mei began and looked around herself to observe the area, “This place feels like it’s going to fall apart.”

“Good, maybe something will fall on Feliks then,” Florentyna responded to that statement as a small smirk formed along her hips. A gasp came from Tatyana when the other had said this, resulting in her to hit her shoulder in disapproval all while for those such as Natalya and Elizabeta - well, they were both grinning.

Natalya didn’t want to say anything since she didn’t know if anyone could hear them inside. By the sounds of footsteps approaching the door though, she especially didn’t want whoever was answering to be someone she recognized.

But when the doors did, it, fortunately, wasn’t anyone that she knew.

It had been a simple maid carrying a tray of snacks. Seems like Feliks had gone full out with this party by hiring servants too… That was interesting. It showed how much he also had to just through his family. “Who are you?” She began before Natalya had held out the invitation she received from Feliks.

“I’m here for Feliks’ party,” Natalya responded, “Here’s my invitation for me plus five guests.”

Seeing the invitation had the servant nod in understanding and take a step back from the door, “Please, come in,” She motioned. Once all the girls had been inside, she had redirected them to the main living room where all of the guests were gathering. The door was closed, now allowing for the servant to guide them to where the main events of the party were taking place.

To all of their amazement, despite the mansion being a bit run down, the interior was absolutely gorgeous. Even Florentyna couldn’t help but be amazed, since she was someone who was heavily invested when it came to any sort of designing. There had been a DJ set up, lights streaming from every corner, a food and drink table, and of course, an alcohol table for the ones who wanted to be rebellious tonight.

“I have to say, the place is pretty nice,” Florentyna commented as she was the first to walk in, continuing to examine the area, “I give it an eight out of ten.”

The girls had dispersed now to examine the area a bit more closely. Natalya in particular though had been looking out for Feliks since she just wanted to exactly see what kind of costume he managed to drop probably over a thousand dollars on. Elizabeta noticed this and didn’t want the other to be alone, so naturally, she followed just behind her along with the pixies.

The thing was that she shouldn’t have had to be worried about Feliks at all. Who she really had to have been worried about was the fact that another individual had continued to follow the fairies since they had left from Natalya’s home. ‘Anna’, who had made her departure from the bakery after eating, did go directly to the home in hopes to catch the group before they had all left.

And to her fortunate self, she did catch them.

The thing was that one thing she noticed was how they were all dressed in cloaks… That, was really stupid for a Halloween costume if she was, to be honest. She had celebrated Halloween her entire life, so she understood the importance of costumes, trick or treating, and all the fun scary things that would happen.

It was even a small tradition in her family to play competition to see who could scare the other the worse. It was a fun game that she played every year… Too bad she couldn’t play it for that year. But, it seemed to be worth it, because she had the chance to do something much more fun while being on Earth.

And that was seeing what a college party was like for the very first time. Naturally, ‘Anna’ did not go inside. She didn’t have an invitation, and she couldn’t just forge one or sneak inside with magic… All she could do was camp outside one of the windows and peer inside, with the hopes that no one would spot her.

However, she did notice one thing while her head peeked from a window from the first floor. In front of her, she had a better chance to see what the view was like inside the house. There seemed to be nothing interesting in the other connecting rooms of the living room aside from people simply drinking and hanging out. It was a typical college kind of Halloween party.

At one point, Natalya had been standing over by one of the drink tables with Elizabeta. The two seemed to have been putting in requests for their own beverages while the rest of the group split; chatting amongst one another…

…that was until Natalya felt a dark presence linger behind her.

 _“My my my, is that Natalya Arlovskaya?”_ A male voice had begun from behind the two fairies. Slowly, Natalya and Elizabeta turned their heads over to meet the eyes of a man who seemed to be dressed up as some sort of lizard monster, “The one who graduated a year early?”

The man’s face wasn’t anyone that Natalya exactly knew. It was a familiar one though, probably from one of her old classes, “Yeah,” She began and took a sip out of her drink, “What is it?”

“Oh nothing, I’m just surprised is all,” The man continued in English while eyeing Elizabeta in interest. This resulted in her giving him a dirty glare, clearly not liking the looks that she was exchanging.

“Feliks mentioned that you go to reform school now since the school didn’t want to admit you actually got kicked out,” A girl had walked up to the man with a drink in her hand. She had been dressed as a devil for this party. It seemed that she wanted to add her two cents to the conversation.

What was all of this? An ambush in the form of ganging up on Natalya?

Elizabeta wasn’t here for this at all as she stepped forward, motioning her drink to the two individuals, “Excuse me?” She interrupted with a snap to her tone of voice,“If she’s going to reform school, I must be a part of it since the last time I checked, our university isn’t a reform school.” She stated, indicating that she now went to school with Natalya.

This had the two individuals who approached them to go silent.

Elizabeta didn’t hesitate to shut them down. To have former classmates that Natalya went to school with before she transferred wasn’t surprising for them to see at the party. But the fact that they were going after her for what, breathing? She was surprised Natalya held back because she knew the girl could easily beat them up. She had been just about to open her mouth and say something else, that was until the sound of music began blasting from the side of them.

Everyone who had been mingling in their own little groups turned towards the direction of the stairs where a spotlight had been turned on.

“Oh, this should be good,” Natalya began and finished off the drink she had, before grabbing Elizabeta’s hand to lead her to the living room so they could witness what dramatic stunt Feliks was about to pull on them. It was his party, after all, so she could only imagine how ridiculous it could be.

It was probably one of the most extra things a person could do for a party. With music in the background and a spotlight directly at the top of the stairs, the DJ began to announce the host of the party as everyone clapped.

 _“All ladies and gentlemen, please give a warm welcome to your host for the best Halloween party in Moscow!”_ The DJ began in the Russian language, resulting in everyone to laugh. The fairies weren’t laughing, though. Language barriers only taking place for all of them, minus Natalya. He directed his hand towards the individual who had been walking down the stairs, _“Feliks!”_

Everyone on the ground watched as Feliks indeed walked down the stairs. He had been dressed in what seemed to be… _Not_ a Halloween costume, but simply just an outfit that worked for a party. Sure, it was Halloween themed with the spider web designs and pumpkin earrings he had in his hair, but the tight black spandex on his body gave the message of something else.

There was a kudos for the confidence he had wearing the outfit. But for the fairies? All of them could’ve gone the rest of their lifetimes seeing Feliks, not in something as lewd and well, ultimately kinky, with what he wore on his body.

“Hey Natalya,” Florentyna couldn’t help but whisper into the other’s ear, holding back her laughter as best as she could, “You should get an outfit like that and wear it in front of Alfred,”

Hearing that made Natalya’s face turn immediately bright red. What she and Alfred did behind closed doors wasn’t _anyone’s_ business. But to the group of fairies, it was always a well-known fact that aside from dating, they did have their moments when they hooked up when no one was around.

It was normal for any young couple to do, after all.

As for how they knew? Natalya had no idea. One day she’d figure it out, and once she did, she’d make them pay for ever suggesting such private details of what she and Alfred did behind closed doors. Hell, the night of the terrorist attacks, Tatyana and Gilbert were there and had no idea of the quickie they had together.

No one knew, including the other multiple times Natalya had snuck off to see her boyfriend.

The music soon transitioned into an upbeat song after Feliks had made his way down the stairs. Many individuals had gone up to him to compliment his outfit, but his eyes mainly had been locked at Natalya and her little group of friends in their cloaks. He grinned and slowly made his way over to them, “Natalya, I’m so glad that you came!”

“If I was a guy and had a dick, I’d go soft in less than a second at that outfit," Elizabeta snorted in a whisper, which had the girls gasping and turning their heads away to hold back the laughter. Minus Natalya, who simply glared at the other in annoyance.

There was a time for dirty jokes, and obviously, this wasn’t the time at all.

“What do you think?” Feliks asked, completely oblivious to the dirty insults that the fairies had given him as he spun around in front of them. As he did this, he flipped his hair back with his hand and rested his hands on his hips, “It spent me a fortune to have this custom-designed.”

“…Uh, I’m sorry,” Natalya began as she blinked, “What are you supposed to be?”

“A goth supermodel from the future, duh,” Feliks leaned forward now as he examined the outfits that the girls were wearing. So, cloaks. Just cloaks, nothing more for their costumes? At least they put in the effort to do their hair, at least, “I don’t know what you’re supposed to be, but those are the most boring costumes I have ever seen.”

That was right. They were still wearing the cloaks to hide their fairy appearance underneath when they were walking in. The group of girls now exchanged looks at each other, wondering if this was the moment where they revealed their ‘costumes’ to her now. Before Natalya even had the chance to speak on her group’s behalf, someone had decided to respond to Feliks first.

“Well sweetie,” Florentyna grinned while leaning forward towards the other, “Put on your sunglasses,”

“Sunglasses? What for?“ Feliks responded with a bit of confusion to his tone, which was immediately answered by what the group had done.

One by one, the cloaks had dropped starting off with Florentyna. Then Monika, then Tatyana, then Elizabeta, then Mei, and following it up with Natalya. Everyone who had been occupied in their own groups had gone silent at the sight of the outfits the girls wore. Even Feliks had stood there with shock drawn to his face.

The group of girls stood there in their fairy forms, looking around as if nothing had just happened. It was a Halloween party, after all, so no one would be suspicious. Originally Natalya wasn’t planning on agreeing with the idea, but with Florentyna’s persuasion and convincing at supper earlier she had no other choice but to accept.

And this idea, well, it seemed to be one of the best ones that Florentyna’s had in a while.

“Where did you get those costumes?!” Someone had approached outside of the conversation bubble, looking in amazement at the group of girls.

“Online,” Tatyana answered without any hesitation in her tone, which was surprising to the group since she normally wasn’t the kind of person to lie so easily, “Florentyna’s very good with designing outfits too, so we bought them and she altered them.”

“That’s amazing!” Another person spoke out, and one by one a group began surrounding the girls, “The wings look so real!”

The funny part was that the wings were indeed real. One-touch of them and the group of girls would be able to feel them. It was after all a part of their true form as fairies. It was always invisible to the naked eye unless they were transformed like this. Even as humans, the wings existed, but no one could tell due to them being invisible.

_“I’m so inspired!”_

_“I’m totally gonna be a fairy next Halloween!”_

More and more voices began to fill the living room in amazement and admiration for the costumes. As the seconds passed, this didn’t settle well with Feliks. With being an individual who had a preference for receiving all of the attention, he certainly didn’t enjoy the fact that the group was getting more attention than he was at his own party. The entire time this happened, he had kept his arms crossed with an angered look on his expression.

“Don’t worry Feliks,” Chun-Yan had spoken, which had been a friend of his who had been attending the party as well, “I don’t think they look great.”

“Oh shut up,” Feliks shot a glare at the other individual with an expression that showed he was pissed, “They’re absolutely gorgeous and you can’t deny it. But don’t worry, I’ll make sure that things work out in my favor.”

Once the crowd began to calm down, this gave the opportunity for the girls to have some breathing room. Natalya, Florentyna, and Tatyana had wandered off to go get themselves some drinks, while Mei, Monika, and Elizabeta had been in a corner where the Pixies had been hiding.

It was best to keep a close eye on them while they were at this party. After Rani’s little story about the four witches that haunted dark forests, that definitely didn’t help with the situation at hand at all.

“We need to get out of there,” Homura whispered into Monika’s ear out of fear, “It’s not safe!”

“What if the four witches come after us!” Rani had agreed with the other pixie’s statement as she flew around, resulting in the three fairies who were supervising them to all sigh, “Especially Natalya!? I couldn’t forgive myself if she was harmed!”

“Relax,” Elizabeta began as she had been holding CeCe and Ella in her hands who were nervous about the entire situation at hand, “Natalya’s fine. We’re all fine. Don’t believe Rani's scary stories,”

“Then what is she doing?” Meri flew right towards Elizabeta and grinned mischievously, “No one is in sight. Natalya, Florentyna, and Tatyana are all gone… So, where are they?”

“Getting data for our project, remember?” Monika responded and reached over to cover Meri’s mouth who had been giggling innocently. This of course didn’t bother her, but Monika still was trying to get a point across. “We’re also here for Professor Polonium’s project, so they’re going to get data first and we’re next.”

And that was exactly what they were doing. Florentyna had been sent outside to gather leaves from trees without anyone looking, along with writing down observations if she saw something. The deal was that if she did her portion of the project done first, then she could come back inside and party.

Thus, leaving Natalya and Tatyana to be standing in a corner, simply taking mental observations since it would be weird if they were carrying notebooks and taking down notes.

This also gave them the chance to check out other things as well. One of them exactly would see if there was anyone they could approach and socialize with. After all, human behavior was something that their professor had been looking for too.

“What about him?” Natalya whispered; moving her eyes towards a man who had been standing in a corner alone, dressed in a trenchcoat and hat.

“…He… looks a bit annoyed,” Tatyana whispered, unsure if they should.

“Well, it’s a risk I’d take,” Natalya shrugged without even taking into consideration of Tatyana’s warning.

Tatyana stood there speechless when she saw Natalya do this; completely unsure of what to do. She decided she may as well follow along and act normally. The project was just as important to her, but every person in the party radiated different levels of energy to her, Some good, some bad… It was part of the disadvantages of being a fairy, after all. Always knowing the true nature of a person on the inside even if everything seemed fine.

Regardless of Tatyana’s concerns to herself, Natalya built up the courage and approached the man with no hesitation. She kept herself reserved of course since she wasn’t trying to look for anything… She was just trying to show Tatyana that other humans weren’t bad, in a way, “Hey there,” Natalya had begun with the fake friendly approached. It always worked for her in the past, so may as well try it again, “Would you like to sit with us? You seem a bit lonely.”

“No thanks,” The man had spoken out, which wasn’t surprising at all to the girls. Usually, when a person was by themselves in a corner, that normally meant that they didn’t want to be sociable at all.

“You sure?” Natalya had begun, letting her persistent self reveal itself just a bit. This led for Tatyana to let out a nervous chuckle as the man gave a glare at the two of them. This also gave the opportunity for one of the servers to come by and hold out a tray.

It was unexpected, but nonetheless, the two girls turned their directions towards the tray.

“Would you like one?” The server began, “It’s fruit punch.”

To Natalya, she accepted the drink as if it were a normal drink… But Tatyana took this as an opportunity as something they could use for their project. “I love fruit punch,” Tatyana immediately nodded and took the drink, resulting in Natalya to give the other a confused look.

With remembering their assignment though, she understood and began to take small sips out of the drink. At this point, it was useless to try and get the man’s attention. He didn’t want to socialize, so that was a fail on trying to socialize with someone. She had motioned Tatyana over and stated, “Come on, let’s give him some space,” She stated and walked over to a corner.

The two fairies stood there with their beverages, talking amongst each other. Mainly about how Florentyna was with getting the data and if they should try and socialize more with the other guests. “I don’t know Natalya,” Tatyana began as she held onto her drink and took a sip, “The people here don’t seem sociable.”

“We have to at least try,” Natalya explained to the other before transitioning into a whisper, “I can’t just be the only earthling you’ve had experience with, you know?”

While in the midst of their conversation, a familiar Feliks had managed to notice this. This proposed the opportunity of possible sabotage. So as the two girls were standing, he had casually made his way over. Without them even noticing, he had reached over and pulled Natalya’s wing before quickly walking off.

As this happened, the glass of fruit punch that once had been in Natalya’s hand had spilled all over her chest. Tatyana’s eyes widened from being startled as an unphased look formed on Natalya’s face. How wasn’t she surprised? Her senses when she was on earth were at a very high alert. Especially with the dragon flame and heart of ice always keeping her aware of her surroundings, she knew that Feliks was going to walk by. But she didn’t know exactly what he’d do.

For the girl who had been standing outside in front of the window, who the majority of that evening remained hidden caught sight of this… She gasped. And it was an obvious gasp to the point where she had to catch herself from opening her mouth and saying something else. It was absolutely shocking since she had seen Feliks pull the other’s wing…

…and part of her, well, found herself getting angry at the male for pulling such a thing with someone like Natalya. Part of her wanted to break and confront him for who he was exactly messing with, but she held herself back.

Still, seeing the sight of it truly made her upset.

“Oh, that must stink, Natalya,” Feliks had spoken out as he walked away at that point, completely unaware of the situation that he may have caused for the other, “There’s a bathroom nearby, but I don’t think that comes off.”

An unphased look remained on Natalya’s face. Feliks may have thought that he ruined her outfit, but as a fairy, these things happen all the time. In classes where it was required that fairies go outside in mud and rain for combat training, their outfits always became disgusting after a certain point.

Which was why there was a spell to fix it.

“Honestly…” Natalya turned herself so she had been facing Tatyana so no one wouldn’t see. With her arms held up slightly, she closed her eyes and soon a glow came to her chest, _“Reversus.”_

With a snap of her finger, the stain was immediately gone and once was on her chest was once again in its cup. What she wanted to say was a nice try, but she couldn’t let any suspicion be brought against her.

“Hey, Feliks,” Natalya began and approached the other who slowly turned around in confusion. With her handheld out, revealing the drink and stain that was once on her chest gone, she simply smiled and placed the drink into the other’s hands, “The drinks are great. You should try some.”

‘Anna’ had shot her hand in success at the sight of this. Yes, she had forgotten there was always a spell to fix anything! That’s why everyone in the magic dimension relied on magic - to help little problems such as that if they weren’t in battle. And Natalya seemed to have the right one in her sleeve, “Let’s go…” She smirked, clearly proud at the sight of it while she admired how quick to action Natalya went.

Feliks’ face immediately went pale as he took the drink and watched Natalya walk away back to Tatyana and now Florentyna who had returned from outside with a notebook in her hands. How the hell did she do that he wanted to question. Maybe she was just really good at getting things out of her clothes quickly seeing that her friend was good with fashion. Now it had been time for the group to switch with the other group that had been supervising the pixies. It was when the pixies had seen Natalya, Tatyana, and Florentyna, they all immediately flew towards their direction and hugged them tightly.

“We were so worried!” Meri began.

“We should go, now!” Homura insisted.

“I think they’re right,” Ella agreed, “You guys had your fun, so let’s go back to Lenfia.”

Why were all of the Pixies all of a sudden, spooked? They had been at the party for at least an hour at this point, and nothing bad had happened. Did they see another decoration that they thought was real? Even though she emphasized that everything in the house was decoration or fake, even if it looks realistic?

“Relax,” Natalya sighed heavily and looked over at Rani, who still had been giggling innocently. It was thanks to _her_ that the Pixies were now at a very high alert and naturally they were worried about their guardian fairies, so they wanted to protect them as much as they could, “We’re getting really good information here for the report, so just please bear with us for a little longer. One more hour and we’ll go.”

That seemed to be enough to get the Pixies to calm down. It was true that they were getting a lot of data about the party and Earth in general. Yes, the girls had experience with earthlings like Natalya, but she wasn’t an exception since she technically wasn’t born on Earth. Interacting with normal humans was getting them a lot of data for their projects. There were specific roles that were assigned when it came to the project; the environment, interactions, and the setting.

Back when the previous three girls were working, Natalya had been on the interaction, Florentyna was the setting and Tatyana was the environment. Now that the roles were switched, it was now Elizabeta on the interaction, Mei on the environment, and Monika on the setting. Since Florentyna had already done the work for the exterior of the setting, it was now time to get some notes on the interior of the mansion they were in.

Monika had moved from the crowded space of the party to move up the stairs. That way she could one, eat some of the pizza she had grabbed, and two, sit down and watch everyone as they mingled and also get an appropriate view of the house. As she sat there, she examined the walls while the pixies had been surrounding her since well, she had the pizza. Thus, resulting in once in a while for her to let them have a bite or two.

Upon further inspection of the walls though, she couldn’t help but notice that the cracks had been lining out with specific images. One of these images had been of three faceless women standing beside each other while the crack had been connected to another image of a lonely faceless woman. It was a weird sight, to say the least…

…Was this part of the party?”

“Do you see the cracks too?” Monika couldn’t help but whisper as she looked around for a brief moment to make sure no one was watching. Once it was clear, she blinked once and a pair of goggles appeared around her eyes that scanned the cracks. From just analyzing it, it revealed that the mansion wasn’t in good stable condition, “This isn’t good at all.”

“It looks like this house is about to fall apart,” Meri agreed with the fairy of technology as she flew around and watched her take down notes.

“Why are the cracks lining up with those faceless women?” Ella asked out of pure curiosity.

“Because it’s the story, remember?” Reni then immediately flew towards the direction of the two other pixies, whose faces immediately became full of fear. She then flew over to the pictures and motioned to them, “The faceless four sisters! The witches, maybe this is their house and they’re angry we’re in it~” She began, thus resulting in the two pixies to now shriek and hide behind Monika.

Monika sighed and finished the remaining slice of her pizza before standing up, “Stop doing that, Rani,” She began, “Though I agree we shouldn’t ignore it, so let’s mention it to the group.”

Bringing it to the group’s attention wasn’t necessarily something that Monika wanted to do, but seeing that the crack was originating from an image of three sisters, a bit of suspicion had begun to arise. Now that all of the fairies were on a very high alert since Natalya had become possessed by the Dark Lord, what if they were found? There was a chance of it being a possibility. No magic on earth existed whatsoever, but in their fairy forms, they did radiate magic.

What if Demande could locate Natalya again and try to go after her? What if the images of the three sisters was a sign that the witches could come after them?

 _“Meet me in the bedroom upstairs everyone,”_ Monika had sent out a message in the form of a spell to everyone in the group who had been in the middle of doing their own work for the report or attempting to enjoy the party, “I need to tell you all something,”

One by one, the message was received by each individual. It was an unexpected one, seeing that they were mostly all doing their parts of the project rather than seeing what was offered at the party… But, if there was something that needed to be discussed, everyone in the group had headed upstairs to one of the empty bedrooms to speak.

No one had noticed them, seeing that this was a big party and it was hard to tell wherever anyone went. What everyone in the group presumed what Monika wanted to discuss was about the report and their current status… Though when hearing what she had to say, it was unexpected.

She went straight into the detail. The paintings she had found, the radiating dark amount of energy that came from just the house, the guests… Then when the painting had changed all of a sudden? It was the icing on the cake that she needed to put together this meeting out of suspicion that well, maybe there could be dark magic lingering in the area.

“You really think the witches could have something to do with this party?” Mei couldn’t help but ask in a bit of confusion. Those three witches were currently serving Demande and probably busy dealing with his orders - not taking the time to find them at a Halloween party of all places.

“But it makes sense though,” Tatyana couldn’t help but to speak in a concerned tone as she took a glance at Natalya, who didn’t seem phased at all about the warning Monika was giving them, “What if it’s a sign? Maybe we should leave — Maybe all of our consciences were right about not leaving Lenfia since we all could get in trouble.”

“Relax,” Natalya now spoke out while everyone turned their attentions towards her. It was then that she had proceeded over to a window and looked outside it. To her, if something was suspicious about the environment or she could detect negative magic, she would immediately say something. But at that very moment, she felt nothing. All she could see was the auras of the guests that had attended the party or the affiliates of Feliks’ having negative thoughts about the group.

For someone like ‘Anna’ however, the second the window had opened up and she noticed Natalya peek her head out… The girl had sprinted away for her life. Nope, she couldn’t get caught, and she wasn’t going to allow for it this time. Especially since she was in a critical point of the entire reason she was on Earth in the first place, which was to primarily monitor the group of fairies. She hid behind a tree and waited a few moments before that same exact window was closed, just so she could go back to her original spot.

Natalya however, continued on with her explanation about the situation at hand. It was a serious accusation, so if they were to be prepared for anything, now was the time to plan,

“I’m not going to ignore the fact that Monika brought this to our attention,” Natalya began in a serious tone, indicating that she was taking this seriously, “Especially with the witches, but I’ll be honest too, I don’t sense any negative magic. If we did, I’d immediately let you all know and I understand you’re worried after the incident. But I think we should keep a low profile for now.”

She was right. There was nothing really wrong nor has anything happened at the party. If something were to happen they would immediately spring into action… But since they all haven’t used magic and haven’t sensed any negativity, the witches couldn’t be there at all.

“Hey Monika,” Elizabeta spoke out as she had been standing by an image at the wall. Around it, there had been cracks surrounding it, “Are these the kind of cracks you saw earlier? It’s lined up with an image of the house,”

“Y-Yes!” Monika began in shock and immediately proceeded to make her way over to the other fairy. With one hand, she had placed it against the image to properly scan it to receive its data. All of the fairies had watched intensively; curious about what the other had to say about the data, “This house was built over a hundred years ago and belonged to four sisters. But over the years, due to the structure of the building, no architect has tried to go near it in fear that the sisters’ spirits reside in it,”

“So what you’re saying is,” Florentyna approached the other fairy with her brow risen, “That this place is haunted?”

There was no possible way that the place could be haunted, Natalya couldn’t help but think to herself. The mansion was indeed not in the best shape and she could understand why no one would want to fix it over the years, but haunted things like that didn’t phase her at all. It didn’t seem to phase the other fairies as well, seeing that any sort of scary thing was more likely to happen in the magical dimension…. Not on Earth.

Monika pulled her hand back now and turned to face the group with a small shrug, “I suppose so, which is odd,” She explained, “Because if a place was haunted, wouldn’t we all sense a negative aura?”

The girls all went silent immediately upon hearing footsteps running towards them.

Instinctively, they all turned around to see the servant that had opened the door earlier for them in a panting state.

“Oh, thank goodness you’re still here!” She began. The group stood there, still silent and confused about course, before the said servant approached Natalya specifically and took her hands, beginning to drag her out of the room, “Feliks said he needs to see you immediately. He’s not feeling good at all!”

The second the servant had begun dragging Natalya out of the room they were in, almost immediately all of the fairies had followed. If there was one thing about the fairies, who were currently training to become guardian fairies, was that one of their major duties as training guardians was the fact that they had to protect the princess of the magical dimension at all times.

With Natalya being the last of the royal family that was lost and unknown to be found, and especially with the fact that Demande could be after her because of the power of the dragon flame and heart of ice, they wouldn’t let any servant just drag her away from that easily. No one knew if it was true, but it was highly suspected seeing that there was no reason why he would after her in the first place earlier that week.

Upon entering the room that Feliks was in, Natalya pulled her hands away from the servant and entered first with her brows risen. What she wasn’t expecting to see was Feliks indeed laying in bed, holding onto his stomach and whining loudly. And here she thought babies were bad… Feliks was the definition of a baby crying for help. Her eyes were widened in intimidation at the sight.

Gosh, and here she was thinking she’d never want to have children in the future if there was a risk they’d become like Feliks then and there. The sight of it was enough to convince her she’d only take care of those she loved and cared for, aka her friends, family, and even Alfred despite his weird nature.

“Oh Natalya, you’re here!” Feliks let out a whine and held out a hand in her direction, motioning for her to come closer, “I saw them, I saw them!!”

Natalya stood beside the bed with an unphased expression as per usual. Many liked to refer to it as a ‘resting bitch face’, seeing that she one didn’t care about Feliks’ whining and two, she had no idea what he was talking about, “Sorry to burst your bubble,” She began, “But saw _what_?”

“The sisters!” Feliks panicked and grabbed onto her shoulders, pulling her tightly into a hug as Natalya let out a small cringe to herself, “The ones who used to own this house before!!”

“You sure you aren’t falling for one of the pranks you set up earlier?” Florentyna couldn’t help but comment since she is sure as hell could fake sick better than that.

At that point, everyone had been in the room to see the sight of Feliks crying. It was a hilarious sight nonetheless, but the fact that Natalya was keeping her distance, it was clear that there had to be more going on for Feliks to specifically request them. But of course, Tatyana had quickly covered Florentyna’s mouth to make sure she wouldn’t say anything else.

“No, he isn’t joking,” Chun-Yan, who had been standing by Feliks’ side the majority of the party spoke up from her seat as she had been in the middle of reading a newspaper that seemed like it was about to fall apart. It was there that she handed over the newspaper to Florentyna to let her have a look, “It seems that a long time ago there were four sisters who lived in this house. Unexpectedly though, the youngest sister was murdered, so now whenever someone comes to this house, they try to take out their anger on humans out of revenge for humans killing their sister.”

“….And what do you want us to do about it?” Natalya began, slowly pulling away from Feliks’ hug and giving him a pillow instead to hug. What she was still confused about was why Feliks wanted her in particular, seeing that she didn’t even understand the whole background of the mansion, “Go outside and look for them?”

“You have to!” Feliks insisted with a nod and reached over for Natalya’s hands; grasping onto them with hope in his eyes, “You’re tougher than I am! I know you can!”

“What do these witches look like?” Elizabeta asked and crossed her arms; watching suspiciously with Feliks’ behavior at Natalya.

“Apparently she has red eyes and is as pale as a vampire,” Chun-Yun explained as she sat down once again in her seat, “One glance at her and she’ll immediately attempt to murder you just like she tried to do with Feliks,”

“ _Interesting_ ,” Natalya pulled her hands back and officially took a step back from Feliks; not really enjoying the sudden clinginess. She enjoyed it when her boyfriend held her closely, but Feliks wasn’t her boyfriend nor was he really even a friend, “Alright, we’ll go find this monster or whatever it is. Sounds like something fun, even if I don’t believe you at all.” She stated, which immediately caught the group’s attention.

“Uhm, Natalya,” Florentyna immediately perked up.

“Do you remember what we were _just_ talking about?” Monika began in a strict tone. “

And how we shouldn’t be involved in this kind of stuff?” Elizabeta added on.

Natalya didn’t listen at all. Instead, she began walking out of the room and making her way down the stairs. Feliks and Chun-Yun were confused upon seeing the group become so tense at the sight of Natalya agreeing to this, but seeing that they were following her and having no choice to agree, they figured that’s why they always stayed as a group…

…Which was perfect for their plan ahead.

As they progressed down the stairs, the group of fairies couldn’t help but notice the fact that everyone had seemed very worked up. This caught all of their attention.

If this was some sort of prank Feliks was trying to pull off, now that everyone had been freaking out about it…. It was starting to feel more real than it originally seemed.

“What’s going on?” Natalya asked as she looked around in confusion, unaware of where to even start looking for this said ‘witch’ that had spooked Feliks earlier. All she had to do though was listening to the murmurs about all the cracks suddenly forming around the house to catch their attention.

Now all of the girls had noticed this and immediately, their fairy instincts began to kick in. Even though there was no negative magic at all, the environment went from a very calm one to one of high alert. This was also something they planned on referencing in their project too.

“Am I hallucinating?” Florentyna couldn’t help but ask while approaching one of the walls, “But does that wall look like it has more cracks than it did before?”

She was right. Based on further inspection, everyone had been watching the cracks in the wall begin to increase. Not only this but the original picture that hung over the stairs that had the three sisters suddenly had a fourth sister appear in it as well. Perhaps this wasn’t that much of a prank anymore.

One by one, the girls in the group had become a bit weary and started surrounding their princess out of instinct. The party guests were confused upon glancing at this, but Natalya was used to it seeing that since she was discovered to be the lost Princess of Sparx, her powers had to be protected at all costs. She didn’t have any reaction to the sudden cracks on the wall though.

It all didn’t make sense to her at all.

“This feels like some sort of weird coincidence,” She began as she walked towards the direction of the door. As she opened it, she took a step outside to examine if there was anything outside, “The cracks in the wall? And suddenly things turning into a shitstorm just after Monika came and told us about it? It all doesn’t make sense to me.”

All of them had walked outside and began examining the area. What was hard though was the fact that they couldn’t use magic, seeing that everyone from the party who had been inside was watching the group from the windows. One thing that they did have though was Natalya’s keys to her house, which had an attachable flashlight to it… So of course with that being their only source of light, the group had been following her mainly to see.

“It sucks that we can’t use magic,” Florentyna couldn’t help but sigh as she looked at a pumpkin and waved her finger at it, thus resulting in it to glow.

The second she had done this though, Natalya had immediately shot her head over the other and held her hand out; magic herself coming from her hands to stop the pumpkin from glowing, “Florentyna, don’t. Just, hold all temptations back - just don’t use it.”

“Natalya’s right,” Tatyana began and took Florentyna’s hand, who had been pouting at the fact that as a fairy, magic, especially in a situation that they were in, was absolutely not allowed at all, “We can’t take the risk and get in trouble. I worry about you too much—”

That was then they heard it. The sound of footsteps coming from ahead of them. The group stopped their walking and began to look around… Except for Florentyna. She had continued walking with a pouting face; unaware of the fact that the group had stopped due to the sounds.

“This really sucks,” She began, but upon realizing that the group had stopped, she turned around in confusion and tilted her head, “Why did you guys stop walking? Is there something on me?” She asked, now looking at her outfit in confusion. The longer Florentyna stood there, this gave an opportunity to the group of fairies to watch as a dark figure began to approach Florentyna from behind.

Mei and Monika had immediately hugged each other out of fear while Elizabeta had been in a battling position and Tatyana was hiding behind Natalya and shaking, who didn’t seem to have a reaction to the creature at all.

_“Her eyes are as red as blood,”_

_“Her face is pale and crawling with maggots,”_

“What the hell?!” Florentyna immediately jumped back from her spot and looked around, watching as the said figures who emerged from the darkness began to surround the group.

These figures had been dressed in old rags, had long black hair and eyes indeed that were red as blood. Were these the witches? Because for most certainly, it did seem like it and all of the fairies had been believing it…

…Except for Natalya.

Now, she knew what a witch _was_ like.

She also knew how to sense negative magic, so to her, seeing these figures didn’t scare her at all like the rest of the group. Maybe it was the fact too that she experienced a lot of scary pranks from her sister when she was younger, that at this point nothing could really scare her anymore.

“That smell,” Natalya turned her face to the group as the figures continued with their little chant and began getting closer to them, “Don’t you recognize it?”

It all took them a minimum of five seconds for it to process and click in their heads. Florentyna was the first one to notice, and when she did she burst out laughing which resulted in the figures to stand in place.

“It’s Feliks!” Florentyna laughed harder as she pointed immediately to one of the figures who had frozen completely still; immediately telling where the smell was coming from, “It’s the same perfume from the car earlier! I knew I recognized a gross smell for a second.”

“Oh come on!” One by one, the figures began to remove the masks that they had been wearing while Feliks had been the last. Florentyna had been still laughing at this point, Natalya had been staring with her arms crossed while the rest of the girls… Well, they were much calmer than they were before.

“You’re a witch!” He spat at Florentyna; the anger building up within seconds of her continuing to laugh more and more.

“Hmmm…” Florentyna brushed her hair back and pointed, continuing to laugh at the other, “I see the maggot face you guys were talking about!” She stated, “Feliks really does have one.”

“Oh shut up,” Feliks tossed the mask to the ground, “You were scared. Admit it.”

The entire time the group stood there, their expressions became more and more unamused. Natalya’s ‘resting bitch face’ though, had soon begun to transition into a bit of a smirk upon seeing a figure flying towards their direction, “What do you call yourself?” Feliks continued, “Top students or some shit at your school? More like scaredy cats!”

“Uh, sorry to burst your bubble Feliks,” Natalya had begun as she motioned over to the figure just behind him, “But uh, I think another guest showed up for your party,”

_“Huh?”_

Feliks immediately stopped his brief comeback to Florentyna’s statement and turned around. The second his eyes laid upon seeing a figure in the sky simply flying in the air with its arms out and chanting dark works, his face immediately paled.

“Wait, holy shit, it’s real!” One of the girls who had been dressed as the sisters said.

“Let’s get out of here!” Another one shrieked.

Soon enough, the group that had participated in Feliks’ prank had run away from the scene in fear. Feliks on the other hand… Well, practically fell to his back and fainted from the unexpected sight. This made Natalya chuckle to herself innocently. Underneath those blankets, she immediately knew who had been there. Her powers never lied to her about negative magic, but it also never lied to her about positive, good magic being in a setting either.

A few seconds after Feliks had fainted, the creatures underneath the costume had revealed themselves and flew immediately in the direction of the fairies, all laughing and high-fiving each other in success.

“We’d never allow someone pull a prank on our bonded fairies!” Rani stated with a grin.

“Especially since he’s bad, and you guys aren’t!” Meri responded in agreement, “Never ever!”

“How do you think we did?” Homura flew up to her bonded fairy now as Natalya reached over and gently stroked the pixie’s cheek with her finger, “Did we do good?”

“Absolutely,” Natalya smiled and placed a kiss against her pixie’s cheek.

The entire situation was very interesting. A whole prank set-up for the girls all by Feliks. Was this why he had invited them to the party in the first place? If that was the case, he could take a huge failure seeing that none of them were phased. He seemed to be the most phased after what the Pixies had done, resulting in him to faint on the spot.

Of course, the group couldn’t leave him outside. Part of them wanted to leave him outside for the night, but it was mutually agreed that the servants of the party would bring him back inside and into bed. He was probably a bit tipsy seeing that he drank a bit, so after taking that hit from fainting, he was not going to have a pleasant time the following morning.

The scene playing out with the pranks taking place was heavily amusing for the girl who spied and watched it all. She at that point wasn’t necessarily there to keep watch of the fairies… But now, more or less found herself more intrigued by the events of that evening. She didn’t know what took place in the house, but she was able to put together two and two the second she saw the group of fairies coming outside to search for ghosts.

Unfortunately for those who were from the magic dimension, ghosts didn’t exist. They especially didn’t exist on Earth, so ‘Anna’ found herself proud seeing that none of the fairies she knew didn’t fall for the prank that easily. They were wary about it, yes, but they didn’t ultimately allow for them to fall for the trick.

It was getting late. At that point, it was almost midnight, which she figured that she should be all set for the evening. She assumed the fairies were staying at the party for now before returning to Natalya’s home, which meant that she would set up camp and get herself settled for the night.

After all, it would be another night where she really would need to get some rest after a long day of attending classes and maintaining the ‘Anna’ persona she had established for herself for the duration of the mission.

For the rest of the evening now that Feliks had been out of the way of the party, that was when the real fun could start. The remainder of the night had consisted of dancing, socializing, and being able to gather all the necessary data that they needed for their research report.

It was indeed a Halloween night that none of them would forget in a long time.

* * *

Returning to school the next day wasn’t the exact scenario that they had in mind seeing that they had spent all night partying, but it was the consequence for deciding to go to a party in the first place. The party eventually came to an end at around 2 am, which resulted in the group leaving the same direction that they once came from. This time, with more details to add onto their research packet.

‘Anna’, who had spent the majority of that evening, found herself camping out in the park for just that night. While it wasn’t part of her plan, she had to admit she did feel much more safer being in Moscow than in the magic dimension. There were always families camping in the woods that teleported her there in the first place, since it was near a park, it meant that it was a safe area. She eventually did make her return back to the magic dimension in the early morning, though.

The following morning, everyone slept in. There were guest rooms in Natalya’s family’s home that the five other fairies were welcome to stay in. They were also granted permission to make themselves comfortable, such as if they wanted coffee in the morning, to feel free to make some.

And the coffee was something that Elizabeta needed that morning when she was the second one of the group to wake up that morning. Leaving the guest room, the girl who was exhausted, walked downstairs of the home to be welcomed to the smell of coffee brewing. So there was someone else awake at that time?

Perfect coincidence.

The thing was that when she walked into the kitchen and expected to see one of Natalya’s family members, it wasn’t.

Tatyana stood in front of one of the counters where she seemed to have been fiddling around with a coffee machine. She managed to figure this out, seeing that she was brewing a pot for everyone when they eventually woke up. However, as a fairy, instincts were always at an all-time high when it came to new presences in a room. She turned her head around to be greeted to the sight of Elizabeta standing there in her pajamas, now tilting her head in shock, “Oh, good morning. I didn’t expect anyone else to be up this early.”

“Neither did I,” Elizabeta chuckled for a moment upon hearing the statement. She rubbed her eye for a moment and approached one of the chairs that were in front of a table in the kitchen.

The one thing that she had to admit was that the home Natalya grew up in was gorgeous. It was the perfect place to raise a family, but it was nowhere near the size of what she grew up in like a palace. Elizabeta looked over at Tatyana who was pouring herself a cup of coffee now, before asking, “Mind pouring me a cup too?”

The question caught Tatyana off guard for a moment when asked. She looked at the other and gave a small smile, followed by a nod, “Yes, of course. One second,” She responded before standing on her toes to reach for one of the cabinets where she had found some mugs earlier.

An additional mug was grabbed before she placed it down, pouring the hot coffee from the pot into it before placing it down. She brought the filled mug to Elizabeta, as well as her own by placing it down on the table. Followed by this, she went back to the cabinet to retrieve some sugar she had found, before returning and taking a seat in front of the other.

“Thanks,” Elizabeta reached for her mug of coffee and took a small smell out of it. The smell of espresso in the morning - it just hit right. After she had left her Kingdom to rescue the Pixies, she was trying things she never got to have in the past. In the morning, she was always served tea. But since being at Lenfia, she’s joined the club of having coffee in the morning. She added a few sugar cubes to her cup and mixed it with a spoon Tatyana brought over as well, “Last night was interesting, hm?”

Last night… Last night was definitely an interesting evening. A first-time party for all of them… Even for Natalya, despite being the one to have grown up on Earth. Tatyana was in the middle of mixing her cup of coffee before nodding. “It was. At first, I had to admit it was interesting, but that prank by that man… Gosh, now I understand why Natalya doesn’t like him. He radiated such negative energy.”

“I agree,” Elizabeta nodded before her spoon was placed down. After blowing into her mug a bit to cool down at least the surface of the coffee, she took a small sip out of it before sighing, “I just feel bad for not listening to the Pixies sooner. They were the ones who were hinting that there was negative energy there… Who knew that it was that Feliks person all along?”

It was interesting how humans radiated different energies. Even for Tatyana, she could tell the true nature of any other being that was at the party. However, she did notice something when she was there. She took another sip out of her coffee before clearing her throat, “You know, I actually wonder if humans have magical energy like us.”

“Magical energy?” Elizabeta rose her brow in confusion. This didn’t make sense to her at all. She looked at the other with confusion fully on her expression, “No way, that’s impossible.”

It was impossible… That was a reasonable answer. Tatyana nodded in understanding before looking over at her cup of coffee in silence just for a moment, “I know… It’s just, it was interesting. You see,” She looked back at the brunette, “For some weird reason… I felt like there was… another magical being there with us. I can detect all of our energies, but this was an energy that I didn’t recognize at all.”

“Another magical being’s energy?” That was concerning. Were they perhaps right about how the witches could’ve come from Demande? No, that was impossible, because they would’ve been able to spot them right away, “Was it negative?”

“No no, quite the opposite, actually,” Tatyana reassured the other by waving her hands back and forth. As she did so, a smile remained on her lips, “It was a positive one. A very powerful and positive one… But, I just don’t know what it could be. Maybe since we were in a crowd of a lot of positive energies from humans, I could’ve misinterpreted it as magical being energy.”

That would make more sense. When there were a lot of energies in one place, it usually radiated a lot of power to those who were magical beings… However, there was a difference in energy between a magical being and a human.

Could Tatyana really have suspected another magical being on the premises of the party?

No one knew, and it was a conversation that the two girls had left at. There was no reason to question it since nothing bad happened at the party minus the small prank that Feliks attempted to pull with them.

Alas, the morning eventually went by with one by one, people beginning to wake-up very late. It was a long evening after all, so everyone was tired. This didn’t neglect the fact though that the fairies in the house technically had a research packet that they had to start working on immediately. Breakfast was served by Vladik, which was a filling meal before the group had made their departure back to Lenfia for the weekend.

And a long weekend was definitely what it felt like. In the process of writing the entire paper, they were also recovering as well from the party. The positive side of it all was how they did manage to get enough information for their research, so they were all able to confidently put together a research packet to be handed into the Professor that Monday morning.

However, as the Monday morning came, dropping it off in his office seemed to be impossible…

…Since he hadn’t been in at all.

Quite the opposite, actually. Apparently, he and Professor Ayron had taken the day to do some research for both their charms and master training classes for fairies. That was the last thing that the group ever expected since they had spent the entire weekend working on a research paper to be handed into him for some feedback?

It was a nuisance, for sure.

This didn’t neglect the fact though that the second-year progress seminar did stop from taking place. With a substitute coming in, this being Professor Keldan who also was taking care of the first-year fairies, combined both seminars into one. It would be a longer session seeing that there were a lot of groups to go up and explain their mid-term progress, but at least they were prepared to talk about their research from visiting Earth.

Once again, Natalya, Florentyna, Mei, Tatyana, Monika, and Elizabeta were lined up in front of the lecture room with note cards in their hands instead of binders. No need for a similar case like the last class session with Polonium, quite literally, forcing them shut. Instead of Polonium, Professor Keldan had been sitting at a desk with a notebook of his own to take notes to evaluate each fairy, while the rest of the class had sat back to watch the presentation.

The report had consisted of them discussing their experience on earth. Not only with humans, but the environment, behavior, social aspect, and interacting with humans who didn’t know what kind of magic existed in the dimension. They were only given ten minutes to present all details that would’ve been easier to just hand into Polonium earlier that morning, which was why it was kept concise and straight to the point.

“And so, we conclude that earth isn’t as bad as many seem to make it be,” Tatyana transitioned their long presentation into their conclusion, where she then passed it onto the next person to speak.

“The differences here in the magical dimension and earth are significant, yes, but humans seem to live just as normal lives as we do,” Monika explained, “Thanks to Natalya’s help and expertise on the subject, we’re confident that the data we’ve gathered and analyzed would be appropriate to use for future research on studying what earth offers.”

A nod was given by Professor Keldan when these words were said. He wrote down a few notes before turning to face the group again, “What kind of research do you hope to achieve?” The Professor had spoken as he lowered his glasses and crossed his arms, “Do you believe the magical dimension could have benefits with adapting some of the things that are done on Earth?”

“Oh, absolutely Professor,” Florentyna spoke out in response. She wasn’t even following her notecards and was simply speaking what came to her mind, “I wouldn’t even be surprised if creatures from the magical dimension decided to go and live on Earth. Now I understand why Natalya is so calm all the time,”

This resulted in laughter to come from their audience and even the Professor himself, who was now eyeing Natalya in particular since he wanted to hear her perspective. ‘Anna’, who was also in the audience of students, found herself gasping and covering her mouth to hold back her own laughter because well - growing up on Earth was _much_ different than the magic dimension. Regardless of this, the Professor directed his attention to Natalya now, “Would you agree with that statement, Ms. Arlovskaya?”

Earth was indeed very different than the magical dimension. Sure, she was born in it, but she was raised and grew up with that Earth had to offer. She was still learning how the ropes of her home dimension worked, so to hear Florentyna say that about her, she couldn’t disagree. “Yes, Professor,” Natalya began and clutched onto her notecards before taking in a deep breath, “If we’re more exposed to what earth offers, who knows…

_…Maybe we may just learn something like we did on our research.”_

* * *

Loud creatures screeched from the abyss of the realm, As the dark energy continued to grow and grow, their strength increased while the sounds filled the area. Shadow Haunt had been protected by these creatures, who lingered along with the cells in which the Dark Lord would keep his prisoners inside.

There was only one prisoner alive. The rest, who knows what had happened to them. They could’ve escaped, or have been eaten by the demon monsters that lingered outside of their cells. For one man though, he was fortunate enough to be alive for how long he had resided inside of the prison.

He wore a long, grey cloak that protected his body from making contact with the ground. Since his arrival in the dark realm, he never thought he would have been caught. The man was weak, tired - powers drained from the strong amount of dark energy that lingered in the realm, His ankles and wrists were both restrained back with chains, that if he dared to move them, they would only tighten around his skin.

The worse part of it all had been the muzzle that covered his mouth. This was to prevent him from enchanting any spells or casting any magic while trapped under the Dark Lord’s guard.

He panted to himself while sitting there on the ground, restrained. All he could think about was the thought of having a drink of water, especially with the sounds of droplets coming from above him. He didn’t know how he survived for that long… Let alone, while the Dark Lord was keeping him alive if he was to be his prisoner. Was it for his own, cheap entertainment? To see how long the man could last under his traps?

The man sighed and looked down at the ground. There was nothing he could do. The more he moved, the more painful the chains became. If he talked, there was the gag on his mouth, preventing him from saying anything.

All he had was his thoughts to himself.

 _‘I feel a dangerous shift coming to those of the magic dimension…’_ Were the first words that came to his mind while sitting there. His eyes were closed in thought. He didn’t have a good feeling, and this was a feeling that lingered in his heart for the past few days. It hadn’t been about him - but more so, those who weren’t trapped in the realm like he was, _‘Something terrible is about to happen… I need to get out of here before it’s too late.’_

The more he thought to himself, the more of the droplet sounds began to fill his ears. It was distracting to think of a plan to get out of there under those conditions… That was until he truly began to think more and more. His eyes widened in realization as he looked forward.

The water.

The water droplets.

They were all pooled in a puddle, being dripped down out of the cell that he was in.

And that was to be his ticket way out.

The thing was that he knew of a spell to get out of his position. It was a risky one, seeing that he had only tested the spell with a few mice in his laboratory. But in a dire situation such as that one, there was a need be for it to be taken care of, _‘This spell is extremely dangerous… but it might be the only solution to escaping.’_

The benefit of this spell was that it didn’t require an enchantment. All he had to do was focus his magical energy into his physical form in the ways of metamorphosis… If he focused his energy, the spell would be cast.

And indeed, his focus came to fruition.

A bright light formed around his body as the enchantment was cast. The man, who had been once sitting on the ground chained, felt his body slowly go from a solid form to entirely liquid. He melted down to a liquid state, where he had forced his body into the pool of water in front of him that was dripping out of the cell. Transforming himself into this liquid state helped him not only escape the gag around his mouth, but escape the chains that were once tight around his ankle and wrists.

The first thing to do…

…get out of the realm quickly as possible to warn about the potential danger he sensed was to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOO! We made it! We're almost at the end of the series... Can you believe it?
> 
> For now, we're going to have a bit of a filler-chapter here! In spirits of Halloween being in a matter of days, I figured that we may as well have some fun here with Halloween shenanigans. The infamous Feliks is back, so be prepared for him and all the wonderful ~gay~ that comes from him.
> 
> In regards to the next chapter, it shall be up on 10/24/2020! Please stay tuned, and look forward to this chapter because of THIIISSSS chapter... THISSSSSSSS upcoming chapter, chapter 12, is going to be... Honestly, REALLY intense (and bad things happen).
> 
> Until then, thanks for following!~ <3


	11. Darkness and Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bright light formed around his body as the enchantment was cast. The man, who had been once sitting on the ground chained, felt his body slowly go from a solid form to entirely liquid. He melted down to a liquid state, where he had forced his body into the pool of water in front of him that was dripping out of the cell. Transforming himself into this liquid state helped him not only escape the gag around his mouth but escape the chains that were once tight around his ankle and wrists.
> 
> The first thing to do…
> 
> …get out of the realm quickly as possible to warn about the potential danger he sensed was to come.

The sounds of birds chirping filled the warm sky on the beautiful fall morning that had arisen in the magic dimension. Students throughout the three universities for magical beings had welcomed the introduction of midterms season. After days of studying and preparing through evaluations, it was now the time for students to showcase their work in front of their mentors and Professors for a final evaluation grade before finals the following month.

The welcoming of midterms, however, did not seem to be one that those who lived with the Pixies, were to be a very… Sneezy situation.

Sneezing and loud coughing came from the Pixies on the very first day of the midterm season. For those who had been fast asleep in the suite, it managed to capture all of their attention the previous night. Natalya, who had Homura always with her at any time, found herself checking the Pixie periodically throughout the night upon noticing that her coughing was getting worse.

And it just wasn’t the case for Homura.

Rani, who was with Florentyna, had broken into a fever. This resulted in Florentyna to be the one to change out a cool towel every few hours, out of fear that the Pixie might pass out from being so hot and maybe dehydration.

Then came the worse of the worse. CeCe, who was still technically at an infancy age of a Pixie, had been wailing and crying. Her crying filled the suite that early morning, where Elizabeta panicly found herself pacing back and forth with the Pixie in her arms, trying to shush her and calm her down. The thing was, it was hard to keep a baby Pixie from crying when she wasn’t feeling good.

No one knew what was going on.

While they were all on top of being stressed for midterms, the Pixies getting unexpectedly sick was the last thing they all needed. They couldn’t just drop them off with the nurse at Lenfia’s infirmary while they went to take their exams… No, today’s exams weren't to be written ones. They were physical combat-based ones, where students would have to show their growth in fighting and magical ability usage.

And physical-based exams were not fun to any fairy at all. It’s not only that Professors are judging if students can use their powers, but if they had the mental and physical capabilities to fight. Was their awareness good? Do they know how to counter attacks? Two of the many questions that were to be answered through these evaluations.

While the suite that morning had been in a process of chaos with trying to figure out why the Pixies were sick, there was indeed a leading factor to the sudden illness.

This illness, mainly being from a flower that had resided inside the Village for Pixies.

Since the ambush by Gelinda herself, she had caused a lot of damage for not using a lot of magic. One of the biggest impacts she had made was while hunting for the Codex, she had cast her magic on a flower that had protected all Pixies from any form of dark magic. This also included illness and guaranteed safety for them…

…The thing was, waking up that morning, those who were in the village were greeted to the sight of their Flower of Life beginning to lose pedals. And this led to a major emergency in the Village. The Magix Ministry had been already aware of the attacks that were launched at them a few days prior, but there could only be so much done when the witches were still at hand.

Even when the Leader of Pixies had reached for help from specifically Headmistress Radella, she was nowhere near the premises of Lenfia. She had been off, trying to figure out details of what was going on to stop these ambushes by the witches.

The thing was, she had been gone a few days from Lenfia. Most students assumed she was off at an important conference, which was why she was missing midterms, but it was still suspicious at how long it was taking her to return back to campus.

The Leader of Pixies stood in front of the Flower of Life in silence. For any Pixie who was watching, it looked like she had been admiring it… But the issue was that she was more concerned about it. Another pedal had fallen, which meant that at this point if it hadn’t, some Pixies could’ve gotten sick with its power not being able to protect them.

A Pixie, who had served primarily as her assistant, watched as the next pedal fell. Her eyes were widened in fear as she cast a glance over at the Leader, “…Is…” She began with a frown, “…Is the Flower of Life… Dying?”

The Leader had no answer for this. For what spell Gelinda had cast on the flower, she had no idea. It was one that radiated dark energy… And while the witch may have not purposely realized what she had done, it was still an issue that the Leader worried may have begun taking effect on the Pixies in and outside of the village.

“The truth is, I don’t know.” The Leader responded finally after a moment, Her frown continued to grow sadder since she had loved the Flower of Life… How come one little hit was enough to get it into this sort of dangerous state? “It’s sick… We need to give it time to recover, but if it doesn’t recover soon enough… Our village may cease to exist.”

It was a dangerous, scary situation that they were all in. But what could be done at that point, other than wait to see if it self-heals itself?

However, for those all the was at Lenfia, the sick Pixies was an even bigger game for all of them. No one knew the cause of why they were sick in the first place, let alone, what could be done to take care of them.

It had gotten to the point where all six fairies had met in the living room, where all of the Pixies after finally figuring out a way to get them to get comfortable, were fast asleep. Just staring at them as if they had lost part of themselves after how long it took to get them to sleep after staying up all night.

“I have no idea what’s going on…” Elizabeta finally broke the silence while examining the Pixies. They were all quiet as they slept before she found herself sitting down in a chair with disbelief, “They were all fine yesterday… And now, they’re suddenly sneezing, coughing, and crying?”

“If this is what it’s like to have a sick kid,” Natalya muttered underneath her breath, “I don’t want any part of it. Homura wouldn’t stop crying all night… And I felt so damn bad, but what can I do?” She looked over at Elizabeta, “I suck at comforting, and hugging her was all I could do,”

“Right back at ya,” Mei responded with a frown drawn to her lips. It was a sad sight to see their Pixies suddenly so sick. She wished she could help, but none of them were experts with taking care of such tiny little creatures, “Ella only fell asleep if I sang to her, which hey, it worked… But I wish there was some sort of medicine we could give them to help them.”

A medicine… No one knew of any medicines or potions that were safe to give to Pixies. That was the thought at first - until Elizabeta had remembered something.

Deep inside the village of Pixies was a flower. It wasn’t any ordinary flower, but it was one that if its pedals were brewed into a tea, it was like a medicine for the Pixies. The only reason she knew this was because when CeCe was first born, the Pixies in the village had used the pedals to create soothing milk so she’d sleep.

“I… Think I have an idea,” Elizabeta began, which was enough for all of the fairies in the party to look right at her for a response. She kept her focus on the Pixies before allowing for her thoughts to roam in, “In their village, there’s this powerful flower that protects them all. They call it the Flower of Life… And it’s supposed to have enough magical energy to take care of Pixies. The only reason I know it is because when Pixies are born, they’re born through flowers, not the normal way. So Pixies in the village use the pedals of that flower to create soothing milk… It’s what they gave to CeCe.”

Florentyna took a sat beside the other while listening closely, “So, you’re saying if we go to the village for Pixies, get some of these pedals, brew something for them, that’d be enough to cure it?”

“I believe it,” Tatyana responded in agreement to Elizabeta. Using things from nature was always a very common thing when it came to healing potions. It was one of the very top places to find things to use magic with, after all, “…At this point, the codex is gone from the village… so it should be safe to go… Why don’t we go and get some pedals before midterms, then?”

“We could, but you guys would also have to be back before noon,” Monika reminded the other while glancing down at her. In her hand, she had been holding onto a cup of coffee; taking small sips out of it, “We have to show off that report about Earth and use those mechanical skills humans would do in that second-year midterm as a group. Isn’t the village for Pixies hard, and also far away to find?”

That was a very true point. Even Elizabeta couldn’t help but sigh as she heard this before nodding, “Yeah, it’s pretty far from here alright. By foot, maybe a good hour or two… The soonest we’d be able to do a trip there, make the tea and give it to them, then come back… That’ll take the entire morning, so we wouldn’t make it to the midterm.”

The timing was an issue for them. Seeing that they all had to be on time, that was where an idea had popped into Natalya’s head. She stood up from where she was sitting in the living room and reached for a phone, “That’s an easy problem to fix. Listen, I have a midterm this morning, but what if the guys from UHB give you a ride to the village? I’m sure if I ask Alfred, he wouldn’t mind taking some of you guys. His midterms are in the evening, so it should be no problem.”

A trip to the village for pixies would be the quickest way to get there. Elizabeta knew exactly where it was too, which had her nod in response, “That’d be great, actually. You sure they wouldn’t mind?”

“Not at all,” Natalya shook her head and reached for her phone from her pocket, “If anything, I know they’d all help if they know its because the Pixies are sick. After all, I didn’t go through a damn solo mission with this hero oath mindset. This is what they do, help magical beings.”

That was a very valid and clear point that came from Natalya. Seeing that they were technically graduating in less than a year, they had to expect these sorts of unexpected missions. It wasn’t anything too difficult either, just bring the pixies to their village to get some pedals for their sickness.

And that was exactly what Natalya had explained in detail to Alfred on the phone when she had called.

As expected, he agreed to at least help them out. While it was a priority to take care of the Pixies, there was also the fact that they were all friends. Whenever there was a need, they would help each other no matter what.

The plan was mutually decided that it would be Tatyana and Elizabeta to go to the village. Seeing that it was a midterms day and some of them did have exams in the morning before their major one later in the afternoon, Natalya, Florentyna, Monika, and Mei had opted to stay back to not get in trouble. They had asked for Tatyana and Elizabeta for updates though since for a fairy, it was a scary sight to see their bonded Pixie suddenly ill.

Elizabeta and Tatyana made their departure to the gates of Lenfia with all six pixies in what seemed to be a basket made to be comfortable similarly to a bed. All of them were fast asleep with small pillows and blankets, all while Elizabeta had used aromatic to rock it gently while they all slept. They were tired, which was why she didn’t want to disturb them and let them sleep on the trip to the village.

With the arrival of the aircraft, it was revealed that Alfred and Gilbert were the ones piloting it as usual. It was a small mission for them, which meant that their entire team didn’t have to necessarily be there. That being, Antonio and Mathias had stayed back to sleep in, which was fine by them.

Both Elizabeta and Tatyana joined the aircraft with the Pixies upon their arrival. They took their seats, all while Elizabeta held onto the basket and watched all of them the entire trip to the village. At the same time, she instructed Alfred where to go seeing that he was piloting the aircraft because the village was one that would be difficult to find.

Especially since it was hidden behind a wall that required magic to access it.

The trip itself was just about half an hour. It wasn’t fair from Lenfia by air, but by foot, it was a whole different story. There was the addition as well that walking in these woods in Magix was potentially dangerous, with no one knowing what kind of creatures lingered in it. The best route to get to the village was that they could land the aircraft in a secluded area of the woods, Elizabeta would open the portal, and they could all enter.

Alfred and Gilbert were steady with landing the aircraft once they arrived minutes later. They didn’t want any turbulence to wake up the Pixies, seeing that they were all fast asleep after a long night of being sick. The aircraft was parked, which then allowed the men to lead the two ladies out of the aircraft so they could lock it up.

“I feel bad for them,” Alfred couldn’t help but to speak while watching Elizabeta walk out with the little basket. With one press of a button on his keys, the aircraft was locked up before he stepped down from the ramp that led to its entrance, “Being sick is probably the one thing I absolutely hate.”

“Hopefully with returning to the village,” Tatyana followed up to the other with a small smile, “It should be able to give them a bit of energy.”

“Speaking of this village,” Gilbert couldn’t help but interrupt while looking at Elizabeta, patiently waiting to see where exactly it was. Because all they were staring at were a pair of trees with an opening in between it, “Where’s this portal, Liz? You said it was right here.”

That was because it was right there. She glanced over at Gilbert, giving a bit of a small eye-roll before handing over the basket to Tatyana to take. With her hands held out, she took in a breath before muttering to herself a small enchantment to open up the portal, _“Apex axamoves.”_

Magic flowed from her fingertips as she did this. The enchantment was unexpected by the three members of the group, but it was understandable why the pixies kept the village hidden from the public eye. It was for their own safeties, especially since there were predators in the woods that could easily go after them.

A portal took shape in between those two trees. There, the group was exposed to the sight of indeed what looked to be a large, grand village. Usually, it was more active with pixies everywhere, but since the announcement of what had happened with Gelinda’s ambush, Elizabeta could only imagine they were all hiding out of fear.

“Come on, just follow me,” Elizabeta spoke and approached the portal to step through it.

One step was all that it took for each person to be entirely transported to that section of the woods. While outside of the portal it looked like there was nothing, the reality was that the invisible portal held an entire city of Pixies… Pixies were either flying around, doing their own things such as singing or drinking tea outside…

…However, it wasn’t as active as Elizabeta remembered it’d always be.

The portal opening up was one thing that some pixies found themselves staring at with a bit of fear of who may have discovered the portal. If it was another witch, then they would be in trouble.

But for Amare, who was standing in front of the Flower of Life that was right in the middle of the village, gasped. She jumped into the air upon recognizing not just Elizabeta, but Tatyana, Alfred, and Gilbert as she flew over to see what they were all doing there, “Lizzy! I’m so glad to see you, and everyone else as well!” She spoke before noticing the basket and tilting her head, “What’s wrong? Why is everyone asleep?”

“…Because apparently, they were all up since 4 am taking care of them,” Gilbert responded to the Pixie with no context at all, resulting in Amare to tilt her head in confusion.

Elizabeta on the other hand, glared at the male with annoyance before turning her head back to Amare. The once annoyed expression, turning into a small smile of reassurance… Though in the back of her mind, she was extremely concerned about the situation, “Homura, Ella, Rani, Meri, Lara, and CeCe have some sort of flu going on,” She explained, which Amare immediately gasped in response, “I was hoping we could borrow a few pedals from the Flower of Life to give them some energy. They’re probably sick because they haven’t been to the village in so long.”

The mentoring of the Flower of Life had Amare’s eyes widen in fear. It was one expression that Elizabeta wasn’t expecting to come from the Pixie, which had her raise a brow in suspicion. Instead of opening her mouth to ask a question, Amare quickly bowed her head down, “I-I’m sorry!” She cried out in a panic, “It’s all my fault! Because I led Gelinda here accidentally to get the codex, she… s-she cast a spell on the Flower of Life! I-It’s dying!”

Hearing this news immediately had Elizabeta’s eyes widened, “Whoa whoa whoa, hold on Amare,” She took a step forward now and held out a hand so the Pixie could sit, “ _Dying_ is a really powerful word. What do you mean?”

Amare felt tears beginning to well up in her eyes. One thing was clear at the moment, and that was the fact that the Pixie felt absolutely terrible for what had happened. Tatyana noticed this right away and approached the Pixie, speaking in a calm tone of voice, “Hey hey hey, sweetie. It’s okay, it’s not your fault,” She smiled in reassurance, “What’s wrong with the flower, dear? Is it something that maybe we can help with?” She paused, “You know I am the fairy of all nature, so tell me.”

_“Hey!”_

A small voice came from the basket when this was said. This managed to catch Tatyana and the men’s attention as they looked down at the basket; Rani had been sitting up while letting out loud sniffles.

“I don’t mean to be rude!” She began, rubbing her eyes now, “But my throat really hurts! Can we get the tea soon, pretty please?”

That was enough to have Amare burst into tears. The second this had happened, both Elizabeta and Tatyana exchanged looks with one another, seeing that she didn’t get into detail of what exactly was going on with the Flower of Life. Tatyana took in a breath while watching the Pixie hide and cry into Elizabeta’s chest, “…Amare…” She whispered, “Can you show me, please?”

Elizabeta’s hand gently pat the Pixie’s back now. Usually, pixies were known to be very emotional seeing that they had really sensitive, yet big, loving hearts. The fact that Amare felt guilty about the whole codex seemed to connect to the situation with the Flower of Life. The fairy lifted up at that point and looked at her, “Amare, whatever happened, it isn't your fault. It’s just like when I couldn’t save the rest of your friends the first time from Shadow Haunt… I was too weak and couldn’t do it. You were tricked, therefore it wasn’t your fault… okay?”

A nod came from Amare when these words were said. She took in a breath and rubbed her eyes, “Y-You’re right!” She hiccuped. Soon, she flew from Elizabeta’s chest and motioned for the group to follow her, ‘I have to stay strong… Come, I’ll lead you all to the flower.”

The village wasn’t far now. Just a few feet away behind large bushes, Amare had brought the group of four to what looked like a crowd in the middle of the village’s center. In front of it was a plaza where most Pixies would sit out to admire the flower, but the thing was, the flower itself…

…it was wilting.

Its petals covered the ground. As the seconds passed, a few pedals would drop down, crinkling into decay. The sight of this was astonishing to the group but not as horrifying of a case as it was for Tatyana. She at that point, had handed the basket back to Elizabeta before taking a step forward to examine the flower.

The surrounding pixies immediately flew away from her presence out of fear. Even the Leader of the Pixies, who stood there, astonished at the sight of the fairy, was just about to open her mouth and speak… But Tatyana beat her to it, “Hello,” She smiled and knelt down; her calm expression being a sign that she meant no harm, “My name is Tatyana… I’m the fairy of nature… Could I perhaps help with what’s going on?”

The Leader felt a bit of reassurance fill her chest at the explanation of who the girl was. Seeing that she radiated a positive amount of energy, there was no possible way that the girl could be lying. Even with Elizabeta behind her, whom she immediately knew, she had a feeling that this fairy was friends with her, “Princess Elizabeta,” The Leader greeted her first before addressing Tatyana, “Is this a friend of yours?”

Elizabeta knelt down for a moment after placing the basket down, nodding at the presence of the Leader, “Yes, ma’am.” She responded and looked up at Tatyana, “And a trusted friend. She speaks the truth when she says she’s the fairy of nature - she can help.”

The Leader took these words into consideration as she looked over at Tatyana and nodded. Elizabeta would never lie. She had been visiting the village since she was a little girl, and the Leader knew her very well, “Very well, then,” She motioned to the flower with a small frown, “…Please, go right ahead.”

Once being granted permission, this was where Tatyana had begun her examination. Her eyes focused on specifically the pedals of the flower that had fallen, followed by touching the flower itself. She could sense its pain… And its pain deep inside her broke her heart. As the fairy of nature, she could not only connect to all environments, but she could feel the pain and emotions of any plant, “It’s in pain… it may not look like it, because it doesn’t want you to worry… but I can sense a lot of dark energy surrounding it.”

“We tried everything, too!” Amare flew up to Tatyana with concern still filling her expression. While the fairy continued to examine the flower, Amare watched this carefully, “Nothing works! It keeps getting worse!”

“…keeps getting worse, huh…” Tatyana frowned when hearing this. At this point, she was kneeling on the ground in silence, unsure of what to say. The reality was that from just observing it, the state of it wasn’t good at all. It was in pain, but she didn’t know what to do to help it recover. The chances were slim of it surviving, but she didn’t want to break that news all of a sudden to the Pixies who were watching the scene.

And so, she thought. There were a few healing charms that she knew when it came to healing plants… She had done it with her own plants that weren’t doing well, and they were always successful trials. Yet for a flower such as that one, any cast of magic had to be extremely careful. It wasn’t any ordinary flower - it was a flower that brought all life for the pixies in the village.

“…Okay.” Tatyana cleared her throat after a moment of thinking. She looked over at Amare with a concerned expression on her face, “How confident are you in searching and delivering things, Amare?”

“Searching and delivering…?” The Pixie tilted her head now in confusion when being asked this question, “I mean, I deliver all messages! I don’t know about the finding part though.”

“Okay, because if you can go out and find me these ingredients from the woods,” Tatyana further explained while watching the flower over, continuing to examine it, “I know of a healing elixir that can help with its pain, so that way its immune system deep within its routes can use its magic to fight off this dark energy. I don’t want to use my own magic on it because it’s risky, but if I have everything, I can make it quickly and nurse it to the flower.”

“How do you nurse an elixir to a flower?” Elizabeta couldn’t help but ask with confusion brought to her face. She wasn’t the fairy of nature, so she could’ve been jumping ahead with things, “Then again, this is your expertise, not mine.”

A small chuckle came from Tatyana before she shook her head. She didn’t mind clarifying it to Elizabeta, especially since she figured she should clarify to the Leader of the pixies who was watching very closely on what she was doing, “I would nurse it through a syringe made out of light into its buds. For now, what I can do until we have these ingredients is keep it warm to help fight off what’s going on…

_…but this elixir will give it the strength it needs to fight.”_

* * *

Loud screeching reigned from above the entrances of Shadow Haunt. Inside its Kingdom, its King had been seated in his throne with a smirk drawn to his lips. His idea was to become a reality as of that day.

As today would be the day he was determined to finalize his mission of obtaining the main key he needed to open the portal of the Realm of Relix.

The magical orb that presented an image in front of him had been of a man. Not just any man, but a man who had been wearing a professional suit while kneeling in front of the Dark Lord in a faculty office. Demande’s mission was clear to the man, as they had discussed and planned days prior to the official date.

_Kidnap the Princess._

As for how this would be done was none of Demande’s concerns. For what he had decided was that his little puppet would be the one to take care of the task and get it done.

 _“Ayron_ , this is a mission that you can not meet in failure,” The Dark Lord’s demands were clear to the man who had been bowing to him through the telepathic image of his orb. Ayron was silent when being given the details of this mission, all while keeping his head lowered in respect to the powerful, dark figure, “With all four parts of the Codex, now all I need is Natasha, and she will be the key to opening the portal all while becoming my Queen as rulers of this dimension. Understood?”

“Yes, my Dark Lord,” Ayron kept his head bowed to the other. He avoided making eye contact with Demande, since if there was one thing the Dark Lord enjoyed, it was to see his worshippers submissive to his presence, “I will deliver the Princess myself… But Master,” He paused for a moment, which immediately caught the attention of the Dark Lord’s when this was said, “I feel a shift in the balance of forces… Another positive energy, equivalent to the Dragon Flame and Heart of Ice.”

…What? This didn’t make sense at all to Demande at all. He had sat down in his throne and glared at the man, “Explain this to me, now,” He ordered in a strict tone, resulting in Ayron to flinch at this in response, “There couldn’t possibly be another version of the Dragon Flame and Heart of Ice. Princess Natasha is the only guardian of the power…”

“…Yes, you are indeed correct,” A bit of a frustrated sigh came from Ayron while he glared down at the ground he knelt on, “But I suspect there may be someone here at Lenfia… who may have connections to the Dragon Flame and Heart of Ice. Not as possessor, but a close connection to its power… And this can serve as a threat to the plan.”

Anger began to build up on Demande’s face. No, could there be a chance someone who had connections to the Princess was trying to interfere with his plan? That was impossible. Her entire family was gone to oblivion - no one had known where they were. It was the least of his problem, so he had gone straight to the point.

“If you believe this is the case then,” Demande’s demands were clear once more, “Get rid of the little rat. I don’t care, just make sure whoever this force is disrupting the balance, do _not_ allow for it to interfere with your objective.”

He wasn’t taking no for an answer. Demande’s request was clear. Bring him the Princess, and Ayron would be paid accordingly as promised by the Dark Lord. The man sighed for a moment and nodded again, “Yes, master. I understand. She will be yours by tonight.”

Good… That was what the Dark Lord wanted to hear.

With the snap of his fingers, the connection between both the parties had cut off, leaving Ayron to be alone in his office. He was silent as he stood up and approached his desk where a few papers had been listed out of the students he had in his class. He examined the names closely of each student who would be taking a midterm with him later that afternoon…

…And amongst those names, one stood out to him entirely.

Ayron picked up the paper now and examined it. The research paper that laid out on his desk had been from one new student, that had just joined the college three weeks ago. Since her arrival, he had suspected something off about her. He couldn’t detect a power within her…

…However, the positive energy that radiated from her was more powerful than any other fairy at the school, minus Natalya.

 _“_ Hm…” The man had folded the paper up and looked over to the copy of the note of the new girl had originally brought into his class. It had been a yellow slip that was signed by the Headmistress, confirming that she was a new student entering his class. The thing was, he didn’t believe this wasn’t the case at all. He picked up the paper and examined it for a moment, before chuckling to himself.

With an envelope, he had slipped the yellow piece of paper into it and closed it shut. On the front of the envelope, he had reached for a quill that had been sitting in some ink before writing down in bold lettering, _To Headmistress Radella_ , for one sole purpose only.

As the Dark Lord had ordered him, he needed to get this force out of the mission and his objective.

“…I’m sorry, _Anna…_

_…but I cannot let you near the Princess if that’s what your true intentions are.”_

* * *

Having to go into their true forms as fairies early that morning was one thing no one wanted to experience that morning. Testing their abilities in combat fighting was something that was suited better for the afternoon, but with it being their first day of midterms, it was always better to get the physical combat first out of the way.

Though for the many Professors who had been testing each student first through alphabetical order, it was not a fun scenario at all.

This was the case for Professor Keldan when he had looked over his list of students' names to see who had been very first under the A’s.

And Natalya was the number one target to go first.

A small, tired sigh came from the woman when she had stepped forward into battling position. The class for this midterm had roughly forty students, who would each have a minute to handle a random situation with their powers. The only way to succeed in accomplishing the test was to break free from the enchantment by connecting with their true selves - this being part of their overall training for the school year.

Natalya, who had been in her true fairy form stood in the middle of the classroom they were in, watching the Professor for further instruction.

Professor Keldan sat at his desk with a notepad out, as well as for a stopwatch in hand that only had a minute for her to complete the test, “As a reminder, this test isn’t to test your physical strength. That is for later. This test particularly connects to your heart and mind, so for those who are observing, do not panic. It is a simulation that you will have to escape…” He looked over at Natalya, “Ready?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be, Professor,” Natalya sighed and watched him, waiting for him to hit the timer on the stopwatch to begin.

A nod came from the Professor when being given the confirmation. With his hands held out, he had said nothing when the simulation was cast for the sake of her needing to figure out the type of spell he had cast.

The thing was all that had taken place was quick. A flash of light filled Natalya’s eyes before she suddenly realized, she was in eternal darkness. No one was around her anymore, it was just her, and this darkness that she had to fight.

However, this was one thing that she immediately remembered about studying. She just had to be one fortunate fairy, because the spell she knew she had to do immediately came to her mind.

Jumping into the air, Natalya looked around for a moment before holding her hands up into the air. She didn’t cast an enchantment or attack, but instead, focused her magical energy into what looked like a small sphere in her hands. The magical sphere suddenly grew more and more in size; the brightness of it increasing as the darkness surrounding the classroom began to die down.

That was her ticket out of the conflict.

The orb was giant in size. Much bigger than her, that if she were to throw it at someone, easily they could’ve gotten hurt. But instead of doing such, she had lowered her arms and slammed the orb down onto the ground. Its light bounced off different areas of the classroom, but with each hit, there was an opening in the darkness.

All it took was a few seconds before the light had entirely vanished, leaving just her standing in the middle of the classroom where applauds could be heard all around.

“Natalya, you pass. Please go take a seat.” Professor Keldan reached for his clipboard and wrote down this note before looking over to the line of students who were in alphabetical order in their fairy forms, “Next in line, please!”

Studying really paid off. Even though she wasn’t studying in action, she did remember looking over spells that would help her in dire situations such as that one. The entire exam itself took maybe thirty seconds, at least she estimated, to pass. The boring part of it though was having to sit back and one by one, watch each of her peers go up to take the exam.

Things only became interesting though when her friends were up next in line.

Going down the list in alphabetical order, Monika was next on the list to take a step forward and take her portion of the exam. She didn’t need to hear the instruction seeing that a few had already gone ahead of her, but she did give the Professor a nod to acknowledge when she was set to go.

Her exam began.

It hadn’t been anything similar to the dark situation or what others had to face. In this case, hers specifically targeted a large tower that had grown in size in front of her. That was when she knew what her objective was - to break it in front of the Professor under that painful one minute time period.

Monika jumped into the air and examined the tower. No, she couldn’t examine it or conduct testing at all - she had to go straight for it.

And it had to be done by connecting with her true self.

A small breath was taken in by Monika while she stood there now. In her hands, she had cupped them together to focus her magical energy into the enchantment that she planned on using, which was one she had learned from one of her earlier classes in the semester, _“Sphere of Truth…”_ She whispered under her breath, before soon, a magical orb had taken shape in her hand.

From what she had remembered, the sphere was not only a danger bomb of getting magical beings to reveal their true selves to them, but it was also powerful enough to break anything in its way.

And so, the fairy of all technology had risen her hands into the air and shot it right at the direction of the tower in front of her.

As she had predicted, the sphere of truth was enough to have the tower go crumbling into pieces, Gasps in the audience could be heard when she had done this, but her test was complete. Destroy the tower, and that was exactly what she did as she smirked and lowered herself to the ground; dusting herself off.

The Professor wrote something down on his clipboard once more, taking a note of her current stance in the midterm, “Monika, you pass. Please go take a seat,” He motioned to the row of chairs that were empty, but slowly beginning to fill up with students the quicker they got through these exams.

“Thank you, Professor,” Monika gave a head nod before snapping her fingers, resulting in her entire fairy form to disappear within seconds and instead be replaced with the original attire she had walked into the classroom with. She turned herself around, walking over to where Natalya had been seated before looking back at the middle of the classroom where the next student stepped up.

The stress part was over. Doing the actual exam was a pain, but for those who got to sit back and watch, it was interesting to observe what their peers were doing. The exam was very random. After all, the second a fairy stood up to the testing grounds, it was a mystery of what test they would be given to take.

The more the line went down, the closer it got to Florentyna’s fate of going up next.

She was absolutely nervous. It was a known fact between her friends that she wasn’t the best test taker, but she had to do her best in order to pass and continue on with her day of midterms. She already did the first step of completing her first year at Lenfia after having to repeat it, so she couldn’t mess it up now.

“You ready, Florentyna?” The Professor asked after she had stepped up next. In his hand, he held onto the clipboard, waiting for the approval to begin.

A slow nod came from Florentyna before she shrugged, “I guess, just, you only live once, right?” She responded with a nervous chuckle to her tone of voice, “I’m ready, Professor,”

That was all the Professor needed. With a clap of his hands, what felt like a raincloud had formed above her. The sounds of thunder could be heard in the room, resulting in some students who were observed to stand back from being startled.

The thing was that for Florentyna, while she would have panicked at first, she knew exactly what was going on.

In seconds, rail began to drizzle on top of her. She had gasped at first from how cold it was, but she allowed for her instincts to kick into full gear while flying out from underneath the cloud. The thing was that this rain cloud wasn’t any ordinary cloud - it was one that was following her. She had to stop it from making contact with her or let alone, make her sick.

She had quickly reached for the ring around her finger which was part of her family’s heritage for many years. This ring was tossed into the air, and with a bright glow, had turned into a scepter on the spot. She grasped onto the handle of it and held onto it; slamming its end down against the ground where a burst of sunlight had filled the room. Those who were there, having to shield their eyes as the positive energy that radiated from the sunlight she used being enough to disintegrate the cloud in seconds.

“Florentyna, you pass.” The Professor spoke out when she had completed her portion of the exam, writing down a note before once again, continuing to move the fairies along so they could get through the tests quickly, “Next.”

Florentyna’s eyes widened when she heard this. With a bright light forming around her body, her entire fairy form had disappeared and changed back to her original attire as she ran over to sit in the assigned seats with her friends. She did it… She again managed to pass an exam that she didn’t think she could pass in the first place.

And that was all because of that idea of connecting and trusting her power.

It was the one out of many exams that were to take place that day. Including for the exam that they were all currently in being one that would continue in a second part after everyone had gone through their own individual test.

The next test as part of the midterm, being specifically targeted in collaboration. In this case, all fairies would have to team up in their assigned groups for their research projects to showcase the ideas that they had came to a conclusion of in their packets. The issue was that for their group, while everyone was there to conduct their portion of the test…

…Tatyana wasn’t there at all.

Elizabeta returned from the village for pixies, fortunately, ten minutes before she had to enter and take part in the exam. As she stood with the group who awaited to go in front of who seemed to be Professor Ayron, Professor Polonium, and Glynda - everyone had turned their attention to her in confusion of what was going on.

Mei leaned over with concern drawn to her face, “Where’s Tatyana?”

“Long story,” Elizabeta responded while standing there; taking in a small sigh as she whispered an enchantment underneath her breath and snapped her fingers. With a bright light around her body, her casual attire had suddenly transformed her into her true nature of being a fairy. She looked over at the group with a frown on her face, “She’s already been excused by the Headmistress for the midterm… There’s been a bit of an emergency at the village for pixies that she’s helping with. Alfred and Gilbert said they’d bring her back to Lenfia once it was taken care of…”

“Taken care of?” Monika followed-up with confusion as well. Did something happen to the Pixies on their way to the village? “Please tell me no one got hurt—“

“No no, no one’s hurt,” Elizabeta reassured the other, still whispering so the Professors could focus on the group that was ahead of them doing their exam, “Something got damaged in the village that Tatyana’s powers can fix. I’m planning to go back after to check on how it’s going, but for now, the guys are watching the sick Pixies while she handles it.”

While she handles it… Something damaged in the village…

…All of these sentences brought discomfort to Natalya, Mei, Monika, and Florentyna’s stomaches. Especially since if it involved their bonded Pixies, naturally, of course, that wouldn’t necessarily stop them from being worried at all.

It was when their names were called up to take their group part of the exam, that’s when the nervousness began to fully kick in.

The three faculty members observed the five girls as they all took a step forward. One by one, they had transformed into their fairy forms while standing in front of the Professors for further instruction.

Professor Ayron glanced over at the group for a moment before looking at his clipboard in thought, “Headmistress Radella brought to our attention that Tatyana will not be joining due to an emergency, yes?” He spoke, “Despite this, we must go on with the exam.”

This was an understanding response. At least the Professors knew what was going on… Maybe even better than the entire group, because they hadn’t gotten much detail from Elizabeta about what was going on in the village. Perhaps it was for the best to prevent them from freaking out, but not knowing also was nerve-wracking for the group.

Despite this, the explanation further continued from the faculty members as Glynda cleared her throat and spoke in instruction, “For this exam, we will be using a magic tool called ‘beast powder.’ It’s very powerful, especially when it comes to guardian fairy potions, which you all will get a chance to use next year.”

Professor Polonium had taken a step forward with what looked like a container. He had approached each fairy who stood there, before motioning for them to walk forward, “Hands out, please,” He began, waiting for each person to do so before placing some of the powder into their hands, “Rub it in between your fingers. This powder will measure your charmix as fairies and make a worthy opponent for you all. It will be a monster enough to beat all of you, unless you can show the skills you’ve included in not only your research, but connecting to your true selves.”

The Professor took a step back now as the powder began its work. The fairies hadn’t felt anything, but light did surround them momentarily as the enchantment slowly began to take place around their bodies. The dust was almost similar to pixie dust - with it floating everywhere before suddenly, gathering together all in front of them.

All it took was a few seconds. A few seconds for the powder to fly away from them after searching for a power, before gathering together to take the shape of human. But this human, with a pair of fairy wings and razor sharp teeth, was now growling and hissing at them.

“W-What is that!?” Florentyna shrieked and took a step back, “That’s disgusting-!”

“That is a monster designed to challenge your specific powers,” Glynda responded, her arms crossed in the process of explaining to the group. She held a notepad, prepared to take notes for each individual to determine whether they would pass or not, “This creature is extremely dangerous and tough. It is part witch, and part space-goblin. We have no control over it, so it is crucial that you all work together as a group to stop it. Your exam begins - _now!”_

That wasn’t even enough time to have the group mentally nor physically prepared for the monster to disappear in front of them. It was a teleportation spell - one that they didn’t detect at all. The first person to realize what was going on had been Monika, who turned around with her eyes widened, “It flanked-!”

It was too late for things to dodge the monster, though.

This monster, with its hands, held up into the air, had formed what looked like a fiery flame in its palms before launching it right at the five girls. The attack was grand - larger than they expected, which resulted in them all taking the hit and being launched to different areas of the classroom they were in. Bystanders of their peers spectating the sight holding themselves from gasping, because that spell looked extremely painful to endure.

Indeed, it was painful.

But if they wanted the pain to stop, this was where they would have to use their true powers together as a team.

“Quick!” Mei jumped into the air now once she had gotten herself off her feet, “We need to distract it and get it into a trap!”

That was a solid plan that mutually, while it wasn’t said, that they could all agree to. And Mei had a perfect, solid idea in order to accomplish this. She held her hands right in the direction of the monster while remaining mid-air; launching what had been an attack that radiated the sounds of beat-boxing throughout the area. As the music filled the space of the room, the ground began shaking; resulting in the monster shriek as it stumbled standing up.

“My turn!” Monika flew beside Mei, all while she ignored the pain on her back because she did take a good hit from the monster. She had held one hand outright at the monster; resulting in what looked like magical lasers to come shooting from the palms of her hands. These lasers had trapped the monster on the ground, keeping it restricted and restrained from using any other attacks on them, “Go!”

“Florentyna, me and you, now.” Natalya looked over at the blonde, who nodded immediately. The two had grasped onto each other’s hands as they flew up into the air together; Florentyna keeping her hand tight around Natalya’s before the both of them had held out their hands at the monster.

By combining both of their magical energies, what looked like a powerful orb had begun to take shape in their hands. One that radiated heat and strong magical energy, to the point where the two fairies had risen their hands above their head before launching it at the trapped monster. In unison, they both shouted, _“Cosmic flare!”_

This attack was only used to keep the monster at bay temporarily. If the monster was to now touch the barrier trap that Monika used, its body would burn. And indeed, while it was powerful, it was also stupid with slamming its body against it. In seconds, loud shrieking could be heard from the burns it ensued.

“Elizabeta, this is your time to shine!” Florentyna called out to the other, tagging her in next for the final hit.

Elizabeta flew in front of Natalya and Florentyna, nodding in response as she already had an idea of how to finish the monster off. With her hands cupped together, she had formed what looked to have been a trap to make sure that the heat from the trap would transfer to its body, ultimately making it implode from touch. She held her hands over the trap; a bright glow coming from her hands in the process of doing it as she had manipulated the water in the air to create this morphix barrier. The creature, who was now being burned alive from being forced to touch the trap, let out painful, crying screams before suddenly going silent. As the enchantment was finished and pulled away, Elizabeta watched as the sight of what was once the monster had turned into the dust that Polonium had placed on all their hands once again.

Clapping could be heard from their peers surrounding them at the sight of the scene. All of them one by one lowered themselves to the ground, where they all found themselves in anticipation waiting for their response from the Professors on their final grade.

Glynda looked at the girls with her brows narrowed before looking at her clipboard, “You all pass,” She responded and lowered her notes, “You’re dismissed, please make sure to get to your next exam on time…” She looked at the crowd of students waiting to go, “Next, please!”

Relief formed on all of their expressions when hearing that they were done with the exam. It was a deemed success and something that they all didn’t have to worry about at all until finals. Midterms were only used as a way to see the progression in students, so if they were all able to pass midterms, that meant they were almost ready for the finals of the semester.

“That wasn’t so bad at all!” Florentyna couldn’t help but to chuckle to herself as a bright light formed around her body; her entire fairy form disappearing in seconds, “I say we celebrate with lunch before our next class!”

Food was something they could all agree to. While Elizabeta planned on heading back to the village for pixies, she figured that at least eating and explaining in detail to everyone what was going on would be able to put them at ease in regards to their concern for the pixies.

However, just as Natalya had been about to leave with them, a hand had reached over and was placed on her shoulder. This startled her at first as she turned around to see who it was. To her dismay, she hadn’t been expected to be stopped by one of her Professors, “Oh, Professor Ayron—“ She began, “Is there something wrong?”

“No no,” The Professor, who had a smile to his lips, pulled his hand back before clearing his throat, “I actually was hoping to speak with you. You see, after today’s exam, I’m confident that we may be able to continue with your magical progression journey. Would you be able to attend my office hours after your latest exam to discuss? It’ll only take a few minutes of your time.”

Her eyes widened when hearing the proposal. Another chance to get to learn more about her past? Natalya turned to face the man and nodded immediately, no hesitation in that statement at all. After the last time they had met and she had the chance to see her mother singing to her - it was something she just dreamed of experiencing again, “Of course, Professor. I’d be delighted to.”

“Wonderful,” Professor Ayron gave her a small wave before turning himself around. He after all, still had exams to conduct with students, “I’ll see you then, Natalya.”

Her conversation with the Professor was noticed by her friends outside the hall of the room they were once in. By the time Natalya had run to catch up to them, Monika found her arms cross while she narrowed her eyes at the girl, “What did he have to say to you?”

“Oh—“ Natalya began with a small shrug, “Something about another test for my past. I’ll be meeting with him this afternoon to discuss it, nothing major.”

Nothing major…

Something about this statement didn’t settle well with Monika.

A nod came from her regardless of the thought. Instead, she turned her head forward and motioned for the other to follow, “Come on, then. Let’s get something to eat.”

The issue for Monika had been one where she didn’t know how to feel. For the past two months, she had always found herself uncomfortable around Ayron. Especially at the fact that he seemed to try getting close with Natalya to observe her powers? None of their Professors did that in the first place.

And so, she figured she may as well do some research about the Professor that Radella had hired for the school year to teach.

Under her research, she had learned a lot of things for Paladins. Some of them were good, some of them were bad with objectives that were given primarily by a master they served. She had no idea what sort of master Ayron had to have served in the past - but Paladins were always loyal to a master no matter what. He hadn’t been suspicious of dark magic… Even if he did, it had to have been through a spell that would disguise his true self from others.

Still, she found herself extremely uncomfortable at the thought of how many times the Professor asked her friend to come to his office. She understood it was because she wanted to learn more about herself - but did it have to be around someone who seemed so sketchy?

She hadn’t finalized the details of Ayron’s background. His name never came up through an internet search, which was why she was suspicious of his credentials at the university.She wouldn’t ever deny the fact that he was a very powerful and intelligent man, but something about being so powerful - there always had to be an origin story for a magical being, right?

Hopefully soon Ayron would reveal his true self to all of them, and not continue to paint this image of an amazing Professor as all may think.

For Monika, she didn’t trust him at all.

Her thoughts did subside though at lunch as there was a bigger issue at hand taking place. And this had been the explanation that finally was provided by Elizabeta about why Tatyana had disappeared with the heroes. The explanation came in detail about the Flower of Life, which with its pedals would be enough to give a healing tea to the sick Pixies, was dying.

This all being done due to the damage that Gelinda had brought to the village during her ambush with the codex. While the codex still hadn’t been found, there was a priority to help the flower recover and not allow for its health to decline. Tatyana was there to monitor it, as well as give it strength to help its recovery.

The thing was, Tatyana found herself in a very tough situation.

As the fairy of all nature, she could not only connect with living plants - but she could feel their raw emotions. Their pains, their feelings - it was exactly what she was experiencing with the flower that was in front of her. She was scared of hurting it more than it already had been. But for now, all she could do was send her own magical energy to give it strength, all while Amare had been in the process of retrieving the items for the potion that she believed would help heal it.

In the midst of her panic, Alfred and Gilbert had been in charge of watching the six pixies who were now fully away, still sick with no signs of recovery. Their coughing and sneezing could be heard while Tatyana focused her magical energy, which only rose her concern even more for them. It had gotten to the point where she decided that she needed help in that situation…

…in this case, reaching out to an experienced guardian fairy on what to do.

The only guardian fairy she could think of was Headmistress Radella. She had just recently returned from her conferences with the Ministry of Magix, which meant she should have been in her office.

The thing was that when Tatyana had made the call to reach out to her, she seemed to be more focused on something that was left on her desk. A simple letter addressed to her of a note that seemed to be forged with her signature. The details of the letter contained a new student joining by the name of ‘Anna’ joining the second-year class. No harm had come from the note, but the fact that there was a potential intruder in the school, Radella had requested the first thing she stepped into the office was for a faculty member to retrieve this girl and bring her to her office right away.

Regardless of this second matter, she did pay her attention to Tatyana when the girl had asked for advice on the situation at hand.

“My powers aren’t that strong, Headmistress.” Tatyana spoke into the projection of Radella in front of her. There was extreme concern on her face while she held her hands around the flower, continuing to share its energy to it, “I’m scared I’ll mess up and accidentally hurt it,”

Radella lowered her glasses now after reading the forged note once more. She placed it to the side, deciding that she would take care of it later before turning her attention to the fairy, “Tatyana,” She responded and gave a reassuring smile to the girl, “You are the fairy of all nature. You may not be a guardian fairy yet, but this is your expertise. Are you saying that you’ve forgotten everything about your magic?”

“N-No ma’am,” Tatyana sighed with frustration to her tone of voice, “I just… If I mess up, the pixies will have nothing to protect them from sickness and health. Let alone, from magical creatures that linger in the woods.”

There was that fear in her tone of voice. It was something that Radella was very used to and completely understood where the girl was coming from. She smiled and examined the flower for a moment from her end of the call, before turning to face the brunette once more, “For the entire first half of the semester, the objective was to connect to your true power as a fairy,” She reminded the other, “With this true power, you know all of its elements at this point. And with these skills, it’ll lead to what you must do as a future guardian fairy - and that is saved and protect the magic dimension as best as you can. Even if you think you’ll mess up, that’s because of fear, and this is completely normal. But I want you Tatyana, to at least try. Subside these fears, and don’t let your mind control your powers… let you _heart_ control you.”

The advice was something that Tatyana hadn’t been expecting at all. She swallowed nervously for a moment and looked down at the flower, before nodding in understanding from the older woman, “I see what you mean now, Headmistress,” She looked at the projection again, “Thank you… I’ll let you know what happens—“

_“—Headmistress Radella, the student you requested for is here.”_

These new words startled the older woman in her seat. She looked over to the door, only to see one of her fault members holding by the arm the student she had asked to see. Radella paused for a moment and turned to the call, speaking to Tatyana, “Please call me right away once you have an update. I will be here in my office, Tatyana.”

“Yes, Headmistress.” Tatyana nodded and took in a breath once more, “Thank you.”

The magical call had disconnected by the Headmistress at that moment. Once it did, the Headmistress looked at the two individuals standing at her door and motioned for them to both come in. She paused at the faculty member and spoke, “You are dismissed. I’d like to speak to 'Anna' privately, please.”

The faculty member, who didn’t question this second-hand, nodded at the Headmistress’ request. And so, the faculty member approached the door and stepped out, closing it behind her to leave the student and Headmistress alone.

For ‘Anna’, standing there with the Headmistress staring at her was the last situation she ever found herself in. It all started so simple… She was about to take an exam, and then all of a sudden, a faculty member from the office had requested for her to come and see the Headmistress.

There couldn’t be a chance that the Headmistress discovered something… Or did she?

The Headmistress didn’t do anything with the girl. Instead, she had motioned for her to take a seat in front of her, “Please, sit Anna.” She began, which had the fairy tense up for a moment, But she listened and didn’t question it; taking a seat right in front of the Headmistress with her expression remaining calm,.. But on the inside, ‘Anna’ was screaming in fear from the strong intimidation that came from the older woman, “…Do you know why I asked to see you?”

That first question had ‘Anna’ tense up as her nerves fully kicked into gear. She couldn’t find herself coming up with an answer to that question… It was so on the spot. Instead of answering it, she quickly shook her head and lowered it; avoiding all eye contact with the older woman.

The silence was what bothered Radella the most. Instead of further explaining herself, she had reached for the letter she had received earlier with the forged note. The yellow note, with her forged signature, had been placed in front of ‘Anna’. It was one that the girl immediately recognized, which had her continue to look away from the Headmistress and avoid all eye contact with the woman.

Radella wasn’t stupid. The thing was, the girl radiated positive magic, so she had to be a fairy… Yet, why did she have a forged note with her _exact_ signature on it? She could’ve used a morning spell, sure, but it was extremely in detail that even if it was examined up-close, people would think it was real.

The thing was, Radella hadn’t signed anything for the past week. She was gone from the office handling another situation in regards to the Codex, which was why this issue came to her as a surprise.

And so, she looked at the girl and intertwined her fingers together while resting the edge of her hands on her desk. Radella glared at the girl with a serious, yet calm expression on her face, before getting straight into the point, “I didn’t sign any letter for the past week,” She began, resulting in ‘Anna’ to feel herself beginning to quiver in fear, “…So, Anna…

_…do you want to tell me who you really are, and what you’re doing at my school?”_

* * *

Loud sneezing could be heard from Pixies, one by one as they rested in the basket that was made for them. All six of them, who had still been experiencing the sudden flu, were all snuggled up underneath a warm blanket as their bodies shivered.

The worst part of being sick was the symptoms. The sneezing, coughing, and congestion. There was also the stomach aches and not having enough energy to do anything… And Pixies were known for their extremely high tolerance for energy.

Hearing these noises were enough for Tatyana to know that she had to figure this out as fast as she could. Fortunately for her, Amare had returned with the ingredients from the woods that she needed to create a healing elixir for the Flower of Life. This process would only take ten minutes, which while she had her hands occupied on the medicine, she had a magical blanket keep the flower warm and to prevent it from shedding more pedals.

The entire time though, she had a frown on her face. She was scared of messing up… She was especially scared of disappointing the Pixies, because this flower protected them. One wrong move and it could be her entire fault that the village for Pixies could well, die off.

The Leader of the Pixies, however, noticed this sudden change of behavior from the girl after a moment. The Leader watched closely as Tatyana worked on the elixir; recognizing most of the ingredients that Tatyana was using were herbs that had healing properties associated with it. She flew close to the fairy before speaking, “You can do it, Tatyana,” She spoke in an encouraging, soothing tone of voice.

The statement had Tatyana bite on her lower lip. The fact that there were not only the heroes from UHB watching and helping by keeping the Pixies busy, but there were also other Pixies watching what she was doing as well, “I don’t know…” She began with a small sigh of fear, “I have to think and figure out the best way to do this… you all are looking up to me, and I don’t want to disappoint you—“

“Don’t think,” The Leader smiled up at her and approached the flower. She placed a hand on the Flower of Life, gently petting it in comfort since she knew the amount of pain it was going through, “You need to use your heart, dear. Your heart has a lot of power — and I can just feel that positive energy radiating from you.”

Tatyana fell silent. Connecting with her heart… It was exactly the same as what Headmistress Radella had explained to her. She needed to stop worrying about this fear of messing up and focusing on what she knew. She knew what she was doing in the first place - this wasn’t her first time healing an injured plant.

“Alright,” She took in a breath and finished the elixir after a few moments. Once complete, she brought the bottle of its contents towards the little opening of the base, pouring it inside the flower for a moment to make sure nothing spilled out from it. The empty bottle was placed down beside her while she knelt there; holding her hands out around the flower before whispering a small enchantment to herself, “… _Charmix.”_

It was the one sentence that resulted in bright light to fill the entire village. No Pixies had expected for her to say such a thing, but for the heroes who were there, Alfred and Gilbert already knew the one word led to a whole sequence. A transformation, where her casual appearance had changed entirely to a beautiful pink dress, her hair now being in a side-braid, as well as a pair of light-green wings growing from her back.

Tatyana opened her eyes and knelt there, staring right at the flower with a determined expression on her face. She took in a breath, before holding her hands around the flower, “I’ll do my best,” She began, feeling more confident about the situation.

With her mind focused, her hands began to glow in power. The positive energy that radiated from her was one that many surrounding her couldn’t help but to admire. It was as if she had been using her magical energy to connect to the Flower of Life through her heart - similarly to a transfer process. All while the elixir would serve the flower’s pain, she was transferring her power to the flower to give it strength to fight off whatever infection or damage it had taken from Gelinda’s ambush.

The power continued to grow and grow. It had gotten to a point that while she waved her hands over the flower, the power had now surrounded her and the flower together. She was connecting to it; listening to its voice as it whimpered for help, while in her heart, she communicated that message of how she loved the flower and would do her best to save it from its pain.

And to everyone’s amazement - it was working.

The pedals that had fallen earlier, suddenly found themselves full of life. It was as if the magic had reattached the fallen pedals with growing energy, which everyone had felt their eyes widen in amazement as the girl cast the enchantment. Tatyana wasn’t finished, though. Instead, she continued to wave her hands; focusing her mind into the flower until she believed it was fully strong enough to fight off what it was going through on its own.

She was the support, which was why the flower needed her help at a time of need.

“That’s so amazing,” Alfred couldn’t help but whisper while sitting on the ground, observing the sight. He could only imagine her friends back at Lenfia - if they knew the crazy amount of power Tatyana had, he was honored to be one of the first ones to see it, “That flower looks alive again.”

Alive was exactly how the flower was feeling. There was a point in the enchantment that the energy resulted in the flower to grow in size, which managed to capture the attention even more of the surrounding magical beings. With it growing in size, the opening around its pedals began to extend before soon, exploding out what looked like leaves.

The flower was now full of energy again. The power it radiated showed signs of life. As Tatyana opened her eyes, she looked down at the flower where it had much more color and seemed to have recovered from the injury it had been facing. The leaves that had erupted from it had flown everywhere, resulting in the Pixies to start clapping in amazement.

“Grab some of those leaves—“ She first began before looking at the two heroes, “It’s the leaves we’ll need for the healing tea.”

That was where Alfred and Gilbert got to work. Leaving from their standing positions, they had gotten up and begun picking up the leaves one by one - just so it was enough to brew a fresh pot of tea to give to the sick Pixies. In the midst of their work, the Leader and surrounding Pixies all clapped at the fairy in amazement and support. After all, Tatyana did use all of her power to save their only source of life.

Tatyana blushed as she stood up and gave a small bow to the Pixies, clearly embarrassed since she never really received a lot of attention before for her acts. A bright glow in the process of doing so filled around her body, as her entire fairy appearance had disappeared and turned back to the original attire she had been once wearing.

Now that the leaves were gathered, she right away worked on preparing the tea. Fortunately, since they were in a village, she was able to get all the tools she needed to prepare the herbal tea for the sick Pixies. This process took about ten minutes or so for her to accomplish, but once she finished, she managed to have enough tea for the six Pixies, as well as enough to share with any other Pixies that wanted it.

“Mm!” Homura sat there with her cup of tea after it was handed to her. She blew it a few times before taking a small sip out of it, “I feel much, much better after that the, Tatyana!”

“Me too!” Rani agreed with the other. At that point she had taken a few sips out of her tea before clearing her throat, “I had this terrible headache! The second I drank the tea, it was gone in seconds!”

This was reassuring for Tatyana to hear. As she knelt there on the ground with the tea, she had been holding onto CeCe; nursing a small bottle of it to the baby Pixie who did not hesitate to drink it once it was cooled down. Since Elizabeta had gone back to Lenfia to take care of her exams, she offered to take care of CeCe for the time being, “I’m glad to hear. I wonder if all this leftover, I could bring it back to Lenfia for my own plants in case of emergencies…”

In the midst of her wandering thought, Ella and Meri who had already finished their teas noticed something from the flower. Ella lowered her cup and flew over to the Flower of Life; tilting her head as she watched it beginning to fill in the size and glow, “Is it about to spit out more flowers?” She had asked in confusion, no idea what was going on.

This managed to catch everyone’s attention the second the Pixie spoke up. Tatyana’s eyes widened with fear; concern flooding her mind again of if she had accidentally hurt the Flower of Life—

—But the Leader chuckled and watched the scene take place.

As the flower expanded, within seconds, an opening was made by the flower. Within seconds, what looked to be a baby Pixie sliding right out of it; giggling as other older Pixies surrounding the flower went to tend to it.

“Did that—“ Gilbert choked on his breathing the second they all witnessed this, “Did that flower just give birth to a baby, or is the smell of this tea making me go crazy—“

More laughter came from the Leader as this was said. To answer the question, she had looked over at the hero with a smile and flew up, “Don’t worry, this is completely normal,” She explained in reassurance before turning to the flower, watching as the older Pixies were already taking care of the baby that was born in front of their eyes, “This is how Pixies are born.”

“Yeesh.” Gilbert rubbed his head at the clarification, “They definitely didn’t teach us about Pixie reproduction in school, _that’s_ for sure.”

Laughter could be heard from the surrounding Pixies at the comment. While it was an already known fact to most magical beings how Pixies were born, Gilbert’s response definitely made sense for where he was coming from as a human. Some magical beings didn’t possess powers and more or less, ordinary humans. So naturally, they wouldn’t be taught about these sorts of things.

There was one thing for certain, and that was the fact that the Flower of Life was an amazing tool to the Pixies. It was loved, brought light into power, as well as taking care of the Pixies.

Leaving the village knowing these three factors was one thing that had definitely made Tatyana feel better about the entire situation. She looked forward to sharing the great news with the Headmistress…

…but for now, it was to get back to Lenfia quickly so she could figure out the arrangements for her own exams.

* * *

Heavy breathing came from the darker end of the woods. With stumbling footsteps, a man who had been drenched in sweat continued to walk down a meadow path. His face was dirty with mud, all while he struggled to keep up straight with his walking. He wore a protective cloak around his body for the sake of not attracting any attention to himself.

No… He had a bigger priority in mind.

He had to get to Lenfia. Lenfia was where he could warn the woman who led the school. A former guardian fairy of the Company of Light - she would know what to do about the situation in regards to the Dark Lord. Demande was growing more powerful as the seconds passed. Now that he had access to the four Codexes, the man had a terrible feeling for what could potentially come.

Everything hurt around his body. The thing was that while he had escaped from being trapped as Demande’s prisoner, Shadow Haunt as a place drained all magical energy. He had no strength and no power to heal himself, which led him to continue on pushing himself as best as he could to accomplish his goal.

The magic dimension was in significant danger. If he could warn someone - even a person like Radella - that would be enough to try and get some help.

The thing was that he was so tired. With each footstep, he felt his body become weaker and weaker… To the point where when he looked up, everything was blurry.

However, glancing up, that was when he made a discovery.

The college… Lenfia College for Fairies stood right in front of him.

He had made it.

Would it be a bad idea to take a small break? He didn’t think so, because if he was going to talk to the Headmistress, he needed a lot of energy to explain his entire situation. Five minutes wouldn’t hurt, he told himself before the weakness in his body caught up to his exhaustion.

And in seconds, the man had collapsed directly onto the ground with his eyes rolled to the back of his head. Fallen unconscious, he laid there limp, but with his chest rising to indicate that he was breathing.

In the midst of his traveling, he had arrived to the gates of Lenfia. While the school was heavily guarded with security due to the events that had taken place at UHB and the Tower of the Dead, especially after now that the Dark Lord could have access to Lenfia — they could all be in danger. Despite this, it didn’t stop four individuals from standing outside the gate, awaiting for a group of individuals to arrive back from the village for Pixies.

Florentyna rested her back against the gate of the school while looking at her nails; examining the damage from their exam earlier, “I swear, I can’t believe my new manicure got chipped during that monster battle…” She sighed, “I knew I should’ve used a second top-coat…”

“Just repaint it when we get inside, easy.” Mei responded with a small eye-roll; looking up ahead toward the sky so they could wait to see when the aircraft would arrive, “Besides, a chip isn’t bad as the whole manicure just chipping and shattering into pieces.”

As she explained this, Florentyna pouted to herself all while Monika, who was occupied on her own phone, found herself chuckling at this. There was something amusing about Florentyna always complaining about the little beauty stuff that none of them understood. But over time, they were learning. For example, Monika had personally taken one of Florentyna’s advice about wearing a hair mask to make her hair soft - which truly worked.

The thing was that while Mei looked ahead, she found herself hearing not what sounded like an engine of an aircraft coming closer…

…But really pained, heavy breathing?

“Do you guys hear that?” She had asked after a moment, looking around in concern. There were mostly security outside watching the premises, but she swore Florentyna and Monika didn’t breathe that heavily, “The heavy breathing sound—“

“No?” Florentyna looked over at the other after inspecting her damage. She made the decision there that she’d just fix her manicure after meeting up with Tatyana and the heroes, “What do you mean?—“

In the midst of asking this question, what sounded like a loud, crashing sound filled all of their ears.

All of them were at a high alert now the second that the sound had gone off. While the security wasn’t phased by this, all four of them were as they took a step forward together as a group to examine the woods in front of them. Lenfia was known to be surrounded by trees due to keeping it isolated from intruders, but hearing loud noises such as that was a rare thing to hear near the school.

That was when Monika had been the one to notice it.

Behind a tree, there had been a hood sticking out. Not just any ordinary hook, but one that had connected to some sort of article of clothing. She took a step forward more out of curiosity while Mei and Florentyna stepped back.

And to her dismay, she was horrified at what she had discovered.

A body. Not just anybody, but a body that wore a cloak that radiated positive magic and seemed to have not been moving.

“Uh, you guys—“ Monika peered her head from around the tree, “You need to see this—“

That was their cue to join alongside Monika now. Florentyna, Mei, and Elizabeta all rushed over to the scene of what she was looking at, before their own confusion was answered by the sight of the man lying there unconscious.

A loud gasp came from Florentyna as she knelt down; placing her hands on the man’s shoulders and shaking slightly, “Professor _Ayron_!?”

“What the hell?” Elizabeta couldn’t help but choke on her breathing while she knelt down herself. It was him - the same man who had been teaching them about the mastery of magic that semester! He looked extremely ill - as if he had been dehydrated and hadn’t showered for days! “What is he doing here? He was just inside earlier—“

“Maybe he got spelled.” Monika reached down and placed two fingers against his neck; closing her eyes for a moment to wait for a heartbeat. He had a pulse, so he was alive and breathing as she pulled back, “You know, how those senior fairies pulled that prank on Florentyna last year that made her lose her voice for an entire day. Senior fairies do that with Professors too, you know.”

“No way!” Mei shook her head, denying it right away. How would third-year fairies try and pull a spell prank on a Professor? It was extremely unprofessional and rude, especially since he was a new Professor at the school there in the first place! “Maybe he got injured? We need to get him to the infirmary or something—“

“I-I’ll go get some water for him, and let the Headmistress know!” Florentyna blurted out since she was panicked at the sight of seeing such a highly respected Professor injured like that. She never realized that was possible, but it made her remember that while they were all magical beings by heart, they were all ordinary humans physically as well. She had turned herself around, going off into a sprint towards the entrance of the school.

While she ran though, the sounds of an engine lowering itself down managed to catch both Monika's, Elizabeta’s, Mei’s attention.

The two fairies turned around to the sight of an aircraft lowering itself down in front of the entrance of Lenfia. The fact that it had been UHB property, security granted permission for the aircraft to land and open itself up to them. It took about five minutes, but once the doors of the craft were opened, Tatyana, Alfred, and Gilbert all had stepped out with the six Pixies who looked much better compared to before.

“You guys stay here,” Monika spoke to the other, who gave a quick nod in agreement, “I’m going to see if they can help with getting the Professor inside,”

That was the plan that she had, at least. While they were fairies, it would be a process to get the Professor inside without making the scene obvious. The last thing that they all needed was to draw attention to themselves, which was why it was crucial to get the Professor to safety without any risks.

Seeing Monika run over from the woods though was a sight that Tatyana, Alfred, nor Gilbert had been planning to see.

Gilbert took a step forward seeing the blonde rush over; confusion plastered around his expression, “Uh, what are you doing in the woods?—“

“Not now!” There was no explanation provided by Monika the second she approached the male. With no hesitation, she had grabbed onto her brother’s wrist and forcefully pulled him in the direction of where their Professor, Elizabeta, and Mei were standing in the woods. As she dragged him, she cast a glare over at Tatyana, and Alfred, “You two as well! We need help, right now!”

Help? That was extremely concerning to Alfred and Tatyana, who both exchanged looks of confusion on their face. But if Monika meant this, and seeing that she looked nervous and stressed all of a sudden - this was a sign that she wasn’t joking. This easily means that there was another emergency that had come up prior to their arrival.

And so, the group from the aircraft followed. Including the Pixies, who were concerned why the fairy seemed to frantic and in a rush to get their attention.

Though at the arrival to where the Professor was laying on the ground unconscious, that’s when they all understood why.

“P-Professor Ayron!?” Tatyana gasped with even more concern rushing to her head. She had dropped to her knees beside Mei, before looking over at Monika, “W-What happened!? Is he okay?”

“No idea,” Monika spoke with a frown to her lips, “We just, found him. Florentyna ran inside to get some help, but I feel like we shouldn’t wait any longer and bring him straight to the infirmary—“

_“Wait…”_

The new voice startled all of them. No one had been expecting it, nor did anyone know the source. The question remained a mystery at first, all until what felt like a hand had grabbed onto Mei’s wrist. The girl shrieked at first in a panic, but the second she had realized it was because the unconscious man had been speaking… Well, not so unconscious anymore, her eyes widened.

Ayron’s eyes were closed while he grasped onto the wrist. His breathing was steady, but based on the fact that he was talking, he was alive. He went straight to the point, despite not knowing anyone who was surrounding him, “Please… Please…” He began in a begging tone; his voice sharp and cracky as if he hadn’t drank water in weeks, “I need… to see Radella… danger… Dark Lord…”

All of these words were familiar to the group as they one by one, made eye contact with one another. Had the Professor gone to Shadow Haunt after their exams? No, this didn’t make sense at all.

Especially to Monika, who glared down at the man with even more suspicion.

Professor Ayron had office hours at around this time. How was he outside, badly injured, when he was inside fine earlier? After the exam, his office hours immediately began. Thus, leading to the mysterious question of what really was happening in the first place.

Even with him being unconscious and not present in the moment, this didn’t stop Ayron from slowly pushing himself up from the ground with his eyes closed. And this had been where both the men had stepped in; Alfred had approached the other and slipped an arm underneath his shoulders to support him, while Gilbert kept his arms out to make sure he wouldn’t fall.

“Whoa there buddy, hold on.” Alfred spoke out to the faculty member; helping him stand. Based on how limp and exhausted Ayron looked, it was enough for them to jump straight into action, “You’re not physically well to walk. If you’re going to get up, my policy is that your medical needs are brought to my attention first.”

However, with all this talking… Ayron couldn’t tell what was going on anymore. There were three girls, and two men in front of him. And thus, leading for him to look at Mei and Monika specifically with confusion, all while taking the support from Alfred, “…who… are you?”

If there was any question that the girls weren’t expecting to hear, it was that. Monika’s eyes widened in horror the second the question was asked. Did he have amnesia? That could makes sense if it was the case, seeing that he was injured and not as responsive as they’d hope for him to be.

“Of course you know us, Professor.” Elizabeta responded for the group, the confusion clear in her tone of voice. It was at this point that the men had began leading the Professor towards the entrance of the school so they could get the process rolling of getting him medical attention, “I’m Elizabeta, one of your students. I’m in your mastery class for this semester.”

Ayron stared at the girl as if the words that had came out of her mouth didn’t line up at all. He had no idea what she was talking about while he took a few steps forward; stumbling a bit, but of course being supported by Gilbert and Alfred, “No… I’m sorry, I haven’t taught here yet. I was supposed to teach here…” He paused to take in a breath, “…but… the Dark Lord got me… and has held me prisoner ever since.

Horror filled their expressions at the mentioning of the Dark Lord. So the Professor had gone to Shadow Haunt… At the same time, he wasn’t teaching at Lenfia because he was held prisoner by the Dark Lord? Based on how he looked ill and injured, it was enough to prove that he was in Shadow Haunt.

But held hostage in Shadow Haunt? It was absolutely hard to believe seeing that he was just there earlier conducting exams.

However, for Monika…

…This all made sense to her.

“…Tell us,” Monika kept her distance from the Professor as they continued to walk, “We’ll bring you to the Headmistress… but…

_…if you haven’t been teaching here as you claim, who has?”_

* * *

The one thing that Florentyna never imagined herself doing was sprinting across the hallways of Lenfia with a full glass of water. It was tend times harder seeing that she had decided to wear heels for that one day… And while she didn’t regret it because she wanted to look stylish for her midterms, running with water in her hands hadn’t been a fun process at all.

Quite the opposite, sadly.

She did do her best though to make sure she preserved all the water just until she was able to get to the woods where Monika and Mei were. At this point, she assumed that the party that had gone to the village for Pixies were back, so maybe they were there helping with the situation as well.

Though as she ran, she hadn’t realized the direction of where she was going. All it took was for her to turn one corner to reach the exit of the building…

…only to see a familiar face walk through the door with no issues at all.

“Oh, Professor _Ayron_!” She began in a panting breath, which indeed caught the attention of the man who was walking in, “You’re here!”

The man gave a gentle smile to the blonde when noticing her pant. She seemed to have been in a rush to find him, so he figured he would at least give her some time to speak. The Professor took a step toward the other to examine her before breaking the silence, “Oh, hello Florentyna,” He began, “Is there something the matter?”

Was there something wrong? Yes, there certainly was! But, Florentyna didn’t know how to answer that question now that she was seeing him standing there completely fine… No injuries or signs of unconsciousness… And in a different outfit too, nonetheless! “Do you feel better? You scared me when we found you unconscious outside, collapsed in the forest! I went to go get some water for you — so uh, here you go!”

Unconscious outside? This didn’t make sense to the man at all. As the glass of water was held out to him, he took it and gave a small nod of understanding to the girl, “Thank you,” He took a few sips out of it, before taking in a breath. He looked at Florentyna; the concern plastering her face to see if he was okay, “…I was just… collapsed outside, in the forest?”

The nod that came from the girl resulted in an immediate frown to form on the man’s face.

A dark frown.

One that he didn’t like to hear at all.

But upon realizing who was in front of him, he quickly went back to his famous, positive smile before placing a hand on Florentyna’s shoulder, giving it a small squeeze, “Yes, I was. Thank you, Florentyna. I really appreciate you coming to get help,” He responded before handing the glass back to her, “I do need to go through, but if you need anything, I’ll be in my office for my regularly scheduled office hours.”

“You’re very welcome, Professor!” Florentyna smiled before watching the man wave to her before turning around to take his leave. The thing that confused her though was if he had been badly injured, how did he recover so fast? There was also a bigger question in her mind that she wanted to know as she examined his back before he turned to another corner to where the faculty office staircases were, “…I wish I knew how to change my clothes super fast.”

Maybe now was the time that she go see the Headmistress to let her know what’s going on. The thing was that her office was at the other side of the campus, which meant that she did have a bit of a walk to go.

With a snap of her fingers, the empty glass that was in her hand vanished. May as well begin the walk to the offices now, so that way she’d be able to catch up with everyone in the office to get better details of what was exactly going on.

For the rest of the group, the Professor Ayron with them seemed to be very eager to see Radella. There was persistence of it, despite him needing to get proper medical attention. But he didn’t care, he needed to get at least his message to the Headmistress before being forced to bedrest most likely who knows how long.

The thing was that as the group arrived to the doors of the Headmistress’ office, they had no idea that she had been in another meeting. The doors were closed, but it was hard to tell if there was discussion going on inside.

And indeed, a deep conversation was taking place with one fairy right in the hot seat. A hot seat that she didn’t want to even be in, especially when someone like the Headmistress was glaring down at her and demanding questions of what was going on.

The thing was that, ‘Anna’ had given in. She had shared the details of what was exactly going on, what she knew, and who she truly was in the situation. The reveal being one that Radella found herself stumbling back a bit in her chair out of horror and shock of the details she was actually being told of.

One that she had never, ever imagined in her entire career as a fairy, to be experiencing.

The woman had been just about to open her mouth to ask more questions to the girl - that was until, the doors of her office had burst open.

_“Headmistress Radella!”_

Looking up from her seat, Radella had placed a finger over her lips for ‘Anna’ to remain silent as she turned her head to the door, “Excuse me,” She spoke in a serious tone of voice, noticing right away who had walked in, “I’m in a very important meeting right now, if you could come back later—“

“But this is an emergency!” Mei blurted out in interruption to the Headmistress, which right away, the older woman knew who it was, “A huge, huge emergency that needs your attention right away!”

An emergency? The fact that they did just burst into her office was enough of a sign for her to believe that was the case. And so, Radella sighed and held a hand; waving them as a bright light formed in the palm of her hand so the doors would close. She exchanged one more look to ‘Anna,’ who kept her head down, to make sure the girl wouldn’t dare open her mouth before turning her attention to the group.

“Well… If there was one group I wasn’t expecting on seeing anytime soon,” The Headmistress spoke with a sigh, “It isn’t all of you, that’s for sur— _Ayron?”_

That was when she had seen it. Professor Ayron, who seemed to have been struggling to stand up despite having Alfred and Gilbert’s assistance. He had been stumbling; his head was hung low, and he had been breathing heavily trying to maintain his consciousness.

“Hey uh, Headmistress-“ Alfred looked over at the older woman, “He needs to sit and water. He’s badly injured, but refused to go to the infirmary without seeing you.”

That voice.

‘Anna’s’ eyes widened the second she had recognized it, and slowly, turned her head around from her chair to noticing who exactly was in the room. That was enough to build the anxiety in her chest, since she recognized everyone there. All of them - the fairies and heroes - she could name in a heartbeat.

As for how? Well, Radella told her to keep her mouth shut, and she was only following instruction.

The thing was, her peering her head around the hot seat was enough to catch the attentions of those who were indeed standing there with the Professor.

As Alfred and Gilbert had brought Ayron over to a chair, Tatyana had been the one to immediately recognize Anna right away. Her head was tilt in confusion before she stepped forward with a smile, “Hi Anna,” She began casually with no hesitation in her tone, which immediately caught the attention of Monika and Mei especially, since Elizabeta already recognized the mystery girl as well.

Tatyana _knew_ this person?

“Sorry for interrupting your meeting with the Headmistress, — and Headmistress, pardon us for intruding,” Tatyana further apologized for the situation. It was at this point that Ayron had been seated in a chair with his head hung low, trying to maintain his energy so he could speak, “But we only need five minutes of your time. I promise once we’re finished, we’ll leave.”

The intrusion was enough for Radella to let out a small, frustrated sigh. She was already overwhelmed with what ‘Anna’ had told her in full detail, so the fact that they all had walked in with no questions asked, she found herself in a more greater position of having to maintain her composure without… Ultimately, showing any sign of panic, “Ayron, what seems to be the matter? Are you okay?”

Ayron took in a few more breaths. The fact that he finally was able to make it to Lenfia to see the Headmistress — that was all he needed at the moment. He took a moment to find his composure before looking over at Radella; the pain on his expression being clear and visible, “Radella, it is a great honor to meet you. Truly, when I received your invitation to teach this school year, I was delighted to accept… However, since the beginning of the school year, I was not able to make it to campus. I was… trapped, held as hostage, by Lord Demande in Shadow Haunt.” He explained, “I was only able to escape now, almost three months later.”

As this was said out loud, Radella stared at the man as if he were saying words in a different language. It didn’t make sense to her at all, since Ayron was there since the beginning. He was there teaching, doing his work as a Professor, and even earning her respect with seeing how much her students have been thriving in his magical ability classes, “Excuse me, I’m a bit confused here,” She chuckled nervously, “Ayron, you’ve been here since the first day. How could you have been held hostage by the Dark Lord?”

“I don’t know, ma’am. For I truly, do not know, and wish that I had an answer to give you,” Ayron went straight to the point; a bit of panic in his tone of voice. The entire time he spoke, the fairies and heroes stood in the back; observing the conversation closely all while ‘Anna’ kept her head down; feeling herself tremble a bit in fear, “Please, you have to believe me. I am the true Ayron the Paladin you asked to teach.”

Silence came from Radella when this was said. Her arms were crossed now before she closed her eyes, taking a moment to process the details of exactly what she had been listening to. None of this made sense… It was so sudden. She just saw Ayron earlier that day, acting like his normal self with conducting the second-year midterms, “Are you suggesting that the Ayron who has been teaching here at Lenfia is an imposter?” She paused herself before holding a finger at him, “I’m sorry, but tell me why I should even believe you?”

That was a question that Ayron figured that he would be receiving from the woman. And so, he had reached into the pocket of his cloak and pulled out a golden envelope. It had been opened, by him, before he placed it down in front of the older woman, “I have proof,” He explained while Radella reached over and took the letter, “I have your personal letter, signed by you, as an invitation upon my interview earlier in the Spring for teaching this upcoming fall.”

Radella looked at the document with shock to her expression. She usually sent out letters to Professors she had been considering to hire in the late Spring, so the fact that he had this letter, only added to the truth of his case. She examined the letter; recognizing right away her hand writing, as well as the details of the letter on how to accept the position, “…this… I did write this…” She began with thought to her tone of voice, “And my signature… This… This letter is authentic—“

“Headmistress, if I may,” Elizabeta spoke out from behind the conversation, resulting in Radella to look up with horror still to her expression. Alas, the fairy began while her arms were crossed, “If this guy is the actual Professor Ayron, what’s the imposter doing here at Lenfia?”

There was only one logical answer to that question. Radella had a feeling that she knew, resulting in her to lower the letter, “…The Dark Lord had this Ayron trapped in Shadow Haunt for almost three months… which could mean, the Ayron here is a puppet of his to get information… about the Codex from one person who knows where all of them are located…”

That one person, everyone in the room immediately knew, minus Ayron. Even ‘Anna’, who had been biting down on her lip to prevent talking, found herself beginning to struggle now. She had to say something - but Radella threatened her earlier that if she opened her mouth and said one thing…!

“He’s after Natalya, right?” Monika was the first to break the silence with a serious expression to her face, “No — I take that back. The Dark Lord is after _Natasha,_ right? It would make sense — since the Dark Lord was the one who made her give up the location of the last Codex. The Ayron here could’ve cast that dark spell on her as the key to giving Demande control.”

“I can’t believe that if it’s really true,” Mei couldn’t help but to blurt out in shock. The tone of her voice was enough to show that she was truly hurt knowing these details, since she really looked up to the Ayron who was there, “It’s so hard to just imagine—“

“I believe it,” Monika cast a glare right at Mei when this was said. The strictness in her tone of voice was shocking to everyone in the room… Even her own brother, Gilbert, stared at her since he had never seen her use that scary tone of voice before. However, she had her reasons, “I’m sorry, but day one, that guy was getting _really_ close to Natalya for my personal comfort. I’ll be honest, Headmistress, I researched every faculty member here before I accepted to come to Lenfia. So when this Professor comes out of no where, I do my usual research, but I can’t find _anything_ on him and about what he teaches in general. And my confirmation was given to me during our class lecture about Spheres of Truths… Paladins don’t use the kind of magic in those spells - only wizards do.”

Mei gasped at hearing these details, before turning her head back to face the other in shock, “So _that’s_ why you kept researching about Paladins these last few weeks! And why you wouldn’t go talk to him even though we said it would be a good idea!”  
  
“Of course, I knew he was lying since day one.” Monika rolled her eyes in disgust, “I just never got a proper confirmation until now. Ella and I have plenty of research to back-up these allegations that are being made about him right now in this office.”

The issue for Radella wasn’t that Monika did background information on the faculty of the school. Students did that all the time, she was aware of it. There was something else bothering her though about the whole situation - and that was the fact that the Ayron there was very close to the Princess… And not in a good way either, “He spent a lot of time with her… But, why is he still here? _Especially_ since the Dark Lord already has all the pieces of the Codex? Wouldn’t he have left at this point?”

“The Dark Lord… He must need something else,” Ayron spoke after a moment with his head lowered. He was still in pain, but he maintained his energy to at least get his thoughts across on the situation, “Maybe he’s missing something, and the only way that he could get it is here at Lenfia…”

Radella paused for a moment upon realizing something. Quickly, she stood up from her seat and looked right at the three fairies in the back of the room; her expression full of horror and fear for what Ayron may have been suggesting then and there. The others may have not been able to pick this up, but she certainly did as the clues aligned each other, “Where’s Natalya? Right now?—”

_“—Hellooooo?”_

A few loud knocks had been placed against the door of the office. The second this was done, Radella felt her hands turn into small fists… Great, more guests and intrusions when there was a bigger situation at hand.

The thing was that while at first the group of magical beings had hoped it was Natalya, another blonde had stepped into the room by peeking her head through the door.

Florentyna stood there with her brows risen in confusion upon the multiple eyes staring at her. She stepped inside, closing the door for a moment, “Sorry I’m late, I actually ran into Professor Ayr— OH!” She paused upon noticing the man sitting in a chair in front of Radella’s desk. She thought he had office hours - what was he doing in the office right now? “You’re here? And you changed outfits again? But you were with Natalya just two seconds ago—“

That was what they all needed to hear in that office.

Immediately, Alfred had been the one to drop from his position and approached Florentyna; grabbing her by the shoulders with a serious expression brought to his face. “Florentyna, where’s Natalya?” He began, clearly in a panic.

Florentyna stumbled back at first when seeing Alfred grab her, since she had never seen him suddenly so stressed out all of a sudden. The fact that the Headmistress, her friends and the Professor were all standing with panic to their expressions, it made it even ten times more harder for her to believe what was going on, “Uh… The center of campus, heading to the academic building next to the dining hall? Why? Professor Ayron is here, so I thought she’d be here too.”

The words that came from Florentyna were all red flags right away.

Enough red flags for the blonde who had been sitting there ever so silently since Radella had told her to, found herself breaking and turning her head around to where Alfred and Florentyna were standing at the entrance of the office.

_“He’s going to kidnap her!”_

The words that came from the girl was enough to have everyone’s heads slowly turn to where she was sitting. ‘Anna’, who had now gotten up from her seat and had panic filling her expression; cheeks red and eyes a bit watered from hating to have held back. But, she had finally broken.

Radella on the contrary, found her eyes widen as she was about to reach over and cover the girl’s mouth - but stopped the second ‘Anna’ had grasped onto the older woman’s hand and removed it from her mouth right away.

‘Anna’ continued in a panicked tone of voice where she couldn’t even gather her sentences without her fear showing. She knew exactly what was happening. If the Headmistress hadn’t told her to be quiet earlier, she could have warned everyone much sooner about what was going to happen, and they could have stopped Natalya from going to see the Professor privately!

“The Dark Lord wants the Dragon Flame and Heart of Ice as a key to open the Realm of Relix!…

_…And his puppet is going to kidnap Natalya and bring her to Shadow Haunt in less than two minutes if we don’t go and stop it right now!”_

* * *

Walking towards the academic building after a long day of exams was one case that Natalya hadn’t thought of happening to her. She was planning to relax for the rest of the day - maybe go out with her friends and celebrate the fact that once again, they were all able to get through midterms without any sort of issue. Despite being exhausted, when she was given the opportunity to learn more about her past, that was one thing that she couldn’t find herself denying the offer of.

She walked side-by-side her Professor while walking down the main campus. At first, they had ran into Florentyna, who seemed to be in a rush to see the Headmistress. After saying hello briefly, she and the faculty member continued walking off. From what she was told, they would have to go into a classroom in order to accomplish the spell he would be using to help her powers enhance and maybe unlock some hidden memories that she didn’t think she’d have.

“Remind me again, Professor,” Natalya began while keeping her arms crossed, looking up ahead while they walked, “Minus unlocking hidden memories, this is supposed to enhance my powers as well?”

Professor Ayron cast a small smile at the girl before nodding in confirmation, “Yes. As it is a spell that will connect with your true self, connecting with your heart leads to your power growing. Just like we’ve been talking since the beginning of the semester.”

This made sense. She nodded in thought, just wondering about what she could learn if she connected with herself. Would she be able to relive the dreams that she had all last year about her mother? Perhaps connect with her family again like the dream sequence the day Ayron had helped her go through a magical energy regression exercise?

“I understand this semester has been very tough on you,” The Professor continued, which Natalya could only sigh at. He was right about that. When she thought that her second year at Lenfia would breeze by without any issues, all of a sudden, there had to be a new entering problem to her life, “Which is why I want to help you. This exercise will enhance your magical energy, so hopefully, the load on your body will be at ease.”

If there was any opportunity to work on her powers, she’d happily take it. Especially if it would make her life easier compared to the last few days, “Thank you, Professor…” She sighed for a moment and looked down, “This entire semester so far has been overwhelming… even more than my first year at Lenfia.”

It was at this point that the two had arrived to the academic building. This building, which was also connected by faculty offices, would give them the chance to use an empty classroom without having to reserve it. Ayron led the girl down the hallway upon entering, where they had entered a classroom at the way back of the hallway. He opened the door for her and let her inside first, before closing the door behind him.

With a flick of his wrist, also came with locking the door securely as well.

Natalya stood in the middle of the classroom while looking around. Usually, third-years had their classes in this building, so she had never gotten the chance to see a classroom like this until now. It was a standard classroom with desks in rows, a chalk-board at the front, as well as a desk for a Professor to layout belongings if they were spending the day teaching in it.

“You ready, Natalya?” The Professor asked, who had the girl nod slowly in approval.

As he did this, he had approached her and reached into his bag that he had brought into the classroom; only to pull out a book. He flipped through the pages for a moment… A bit longer than a moment, as it seemed that he had been reading something very intense. Natalya hadn’t noticed this and didn’t pay too much attention…

…Especially when he had reached into his bag and pulled out a handkerchief. Weird, but after seeing him clean off the book before putting it away, that was when it made sense to the girl.

“Alright, this is a new technique that I read about in the journal of magical education,” The Professor explained, motioning the book in his hand to the girl to lessen her suspicion. Natalya nodded, since that made sense to her - he was just gathering details before conducting the exercise. The book was put away before he held his hands out in front of the girl.

In seconds, a bright light had filled the room. A sphere of magic had flown right from the palm of his hands before suddenly, it had grown into a giant bubble. The sight of it was gorgeous to Natalya, that she had been completely unphased by what she was seeing.

And so, the Professor continued his explanation to the girl, “This is the Empowerment Bubble,” He explained before approaching her from behind; placing his hands on her shoulder to guide her towards the bubble, “Don’t be afraid of it. It’s absolutely marvelous…” While guiding her, he could feel a small smirk grow on his lips, “Go on, try it.”

Silence came from Natalya when she observed the bubble. That was when it hit her… All of a sudden, a bad feeling in her chest. When this usually happened, it was all of the sudden. Her powers always warning her of danger ahead… But, how could she be in danger? Ayron was there with her, and if there was, he would have noticed it too.

Perhaps going inside the bubble, in case there was any danger, would be the best thing to do under those circumstances for protection. And so, she allowed for the Professor to guide her inside the bubble. It was a weird feeling at first, but once she was inside, she was greeted by the sight of the bubble surrounding her. If someone was claustrophobic, they wouldn’t survive being in that bubble at all.

Natalya stood there in silence while she walked around the bubble. Behind her, Ayron stared at her in observation, curious to see what she would do. It was at this point as well that he had pulled out the same handkerchief he had in his hand before; holding it behind his back in silence.

It was cold. Outside the bubble, it looked like a welcoming enchantment… But, stepping in, all she could feel was negative energy radiating from it. Natalya frowned while she wrapped her arms around herself; feeling suddenly cold from the temperature dropping. What was going on?…

“Professor, I feel… so much negative energy from this,” Natalya couldn’t help but to speak; unaware of the Professor beginning to creep up behind her while she observed the bubble. There was something wrong. Absolutely wrong, and her heart was screaming for her to get out of that bubble right now, “W-What is this thing doing to me?”

A smirk grew on the Professor’s lips the second this was asked. Without any hesitation, he had approached her; his body lingering right over hers before speaking in a calm, tone of voice, “It’s simple… This bubble is draining your power and transferring it to my control…” He leaned forward to whisper into her ear, “…Isn’t it just a marvelous tool? The Dark Lord wishes for your arrival to be as comforting as possible… _Natasha.”_

Natalya’s eyes widened the second she heard these words. The sudden tone of voice of him changing had her heart drop right on the spot as she turned around in a panic, but before she could even say anything, the man had already grabbed onto her, “What are you-!?”

That handkerchief. The one from before, she had noticed him bring it right back out as the man had wrapped his arms around the girl tightly. From there, the handkerchief was pressed over her mouth and nose; forming her to inhale it from being in a panic.

The smell… It was a smell that she had never experienced before. It was sweet... But had a very chemically taste to it. Where has she smelled it before... She swore it wasn't on the magic dimension, but perhaps in one of her chemistry classes in school... Mixing chemicals, then this liquid evaporating...

That was when she recognized the smell.

Chlorofoam.

It's a solvent that helps other substances dissolve. She had experience with this from testing it in lab work years ago, but it was also commonly used on Earth to... In result in dizziness and drowsiness.

Loud screams had come from the woman as she struggled in the grip; exclaiming at him to let her go and stop what he was doing. The man kept his grip around her tight though, making sure that she couldn’t escape while the fabric had pressed more and more against her face to keep her to calm down. The more she inhaled it, the more she found herself suddenly struggling to keep her eyes open. In a mixture of the bubble draining her magical energy, and the drug being used to get her into this state…

…She felt weak. Everything felt weak, to the point where she had to make sure he didn’t get it before her body gave in. Quickly, she had used the last of her magical energy to form a small crystal in her hands… Before dropping it to the ground before the man could notice. She was going to get taken, and already, she prepared for that fate.

Soon, her eyes rolled to the back of her head while her knees unbuckled and had her lose all consciousness. Just before she had taken the hit to the ground, the Professor, of course, dropped the handkerchief and scooped the girl into his arms.

Loud laughter ensued from the man when he had successfully completed his mission. The one mission that the Dark Lord had asked for him to do - finally complete after long last. While it was a process to figure out when to kidnap the Princess, he first had to deal with the rat that radiated magic similarly to the Dragon Flame and Heart of Ice.

Today was the perfect day to execute the mission. The sooner she was taken, another step closer the Dark Lord was to accomplish his mission of opening the Realm of Relix.

The thing was as his laughter filled the empty classroom, it had been loud enough for that outside to hear it.

Those being, everyone, minus the Headmistress and the True Ayron, running straight to the academic building that Florentyna had said she saw Natalya walking towards. Florentyna, Tatyana, Mei, Elizabeta and Monika had been fully transformed into their fairy forms at that point. There was no time to run on foot, which Gilbert, Alfred, and even ‘Anna’ had done while sprinting to the academic hall.

The fairies were way ahead at this point; practically bursting into the academic hall by kicking the doors open. Third-year students who were passing by found themselves startled at first when this happened, but as the scream and laughing filled the hallways, this managed to catch everyone’s attentions.

“NATALYA!” What sounded like a scream came from Florentyna while she specifically had pushed past the third-year students who were horrified at the sight of what was going on. She didn’t care though. She had flown ahead with the other four just behind, going directly down a hallway where the sounds ensued.

Just as she was about to kick open the door of the classroom that the noises were in, what had sounded like a blast of magic filled the air. For those who were running on foot, Alfred, Gilbert, and even ‘Anna’ found themselves stumbling from the impact of it. A bright light followed inside the classroom, which by the time the door was kicked open by Florentyna…

…there was nothing, other than a visible crystal laying on the ground with half of it, shattered.

The crystal glew with bright, positive energy. An energy that when all the individuals had caught up to the classroom, they were greeted with what felt to be a protective spell on it. Its light radiated along with the windows while it had a beautiful glisten to it. It had been a medium sized crystal, shaped circular with a tip at its end.

“…What…?” Mei lowered herself to the ground upon seeing this, before running over to where the crystal was standing, “W-Were we too late? Where is she?”

Silence came rom the group upon seeing this. No one knew how to react… Especially Alfred, whose eyes had been especially widened in horror from what was exclaimed earlier in that office. That Natalya was going to get kidnapped? That was absolutely ridiculous and impossible - how could that be? She was smart, and she always detected when there was negative energy in the surrounding area…

…But she was gone.

Taken.

Florentyna approached where the crystal sat on the ground. She took in a shaky breath, kneeling down to reach for it so she could pick it up, “Was this hers?… I feel like I’ve seen this in a history book before…” She whispered, “It feels so powerful…”

The thing was that the second her hand had grasped around it, what had felt like a painful, burning touch radiated from it.

A loud shriek came from Florentyna as she stumbled back and held onto her hand; waving it up and down in a panic from the crystal burning her, “What the hell!?” She began with a whine; jumping up and down in pain before she looked at her hand that was burnt red, “Th-That thing just, burned me!”

It burned her? The group looked down at the crystal, not believing her at all. It looked like a normal artifact… That at this point, Alfred had slowly knelt down to pick it up with a gloved hand, figuring she was joking.

That was until, a voice from behind him spoke, _“Don’t!”_

Alfred paused as he was about to pick-up the crystal. The thing was that he couldn’t help but notice that even with his hand lingering over it, it didn’t radiate any heat… So what was Florentyna talking about? He ignored the voice, before touching it with his finger.

And that was when he learned the hard way as well.

Pulling his hand back, he didn’t have a similar reaction to Florentyna. His finger indeed took a hit, but one thing he couldn’t help but notice was that touching the crystal had practically burned right through his glove. There was no injury, but all he could do was stare at the crystal with his eyes widened.

That had to belong to Natalya. If no one else could touch it, then it was a sign that it was an object that only belonged to her.

What sounded like a loud, frustrated sigh came from ‘Anna’ upon witnessing this. She had told Alfred to stop there and then, but the damn man didn’t listen to her and ignored her! She had approached where the group was standing; glaring right at the man with annoyance brought to her face, “Do you always have to never listen!? You’re just the same!”

And with one hand, she had reached down and picked up the crystal herself, with no hesitation whatsoever. The group had been just about to stop her from touching it out of concern she was about to burn herself from the magic that radiated from it…

…However, ‘Anna’ simply stood there with the crystal in hand. She held it in between her index finger and thumb; looking right at it with a frown drawn to her face. The crystal… She knew exactly what it was, but it seemed that no one else knew what it was as well.

Everyone was shocked. How come Florentyna and Alfred weren’t able to pick it up, but someone like this random girl who was in the Headmistress’ office - how was she able to pick it up at ease with no reaction at all?

_“How did you do that?”_

‘Anna’ found herself tense up upon hearing the question that came from behind her. Turning her head slowly around, she was greeted to the sight of Alfred glaring right down at her. The height difference was extreme, that she found herself suddenly becoming nervous seeing how serious the man had become. He looked angry and stressed… But she didn’t blame him.

After all, he did just witness seeing someone he loved be kidnapped then and there.

“I said, how did you do that, kid?” Alfred repeated himself once more. The entire time the girl held onto the crystal, she kept it away from him; staring right back up at the man with fear beginning to build up in her eyes. Alas, Alfred continued. He was already suspicious enough, especially after the events that had taken place in the office with her blurting out what she said… In less than two minutes, Natalya was going to be taken… And she was exactly right. “Not just the crystal. How? How did you know she was going to be taken? Why didn’t you say anything at first when we walked in?”

Silence came from ‘Anna’ before she looked down as if she was taking the lecture then and there. She had never seen Alfred this stressed and angry before… It was a whole new experience, but she understood why he was frustrated.

“…Anna?” Tatyana took a step forward now and approached Alfred; reaching over to grab his shoulder to pull him away from the girl. She knew he was angry, but he had no right to be taking it out on the girl. Instead, she knelt down in front of Anna and gave her a comforting smile, despite having many worries building up in her head, “It’s okay… do you know something that we don’t?”

‘Anna’ looked up at the fairy now with her expression soft now. It was already too late… The mission she had came for in the first place… And it wasn’t supposed to happen so soon. When originally in that meeting, she was going to warn the Headmistress of Ayron… But, she instead listened to the Headmistress and stayed quiet. When she knew she should’ve spoken up in the first place! Not just sit there, cowering in fear while waiting for people to figure out what was going on.

The girl turned around after a moment and didn’t say anything. In case of there being any failure of her mission, there was always a back-up plan. A back-up plan that she didn’t put together, but one that she was offered in case she was in a position where she needed help. After all, it was her very first independent mission as a fairy in training, so she was still figuring out what to do.

The crystal was placed on top of the lecturer’s desk in the classroom now before she reached into her bag and pulled out what looked to be… A small box? It looked like a music box at first, but upon her opening it, a bright light had filled the room. The group of fairies and heroes were stumbled back upon how bright the room had filled since at first, no one knew what was going on…

…That was until, ‘Anna’ had stepped to the side and revealed to the group what exactly she had done.

It was… A call. A projection call of a man who had been standing there with his own serious expression to his face. As he stood there, the projection grew in size, to the point where it was as if another human being were standing in the room. No one knew _what_ it was, or how the call had been taking place… But the second everyone had managed to catch the face of who the man was…

…Everyone’s jaws had dropped wide open.

A person they all knew.

‘Anna’s’ head was faced down, bracing for what was about to come upon having to use the emergency call to this specific figure.

_“ALFRED?!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 10, the most chaotic chapter of them all. 
> 
> This is where things definitely take a turn. From the kidnapping, to a huge reveal towards the end... And if you thought this chapter was intense, just wait for the next one. owo
> 
> I can't believe we're almost at the end. Just a few more chapters until things get more crazy than it already has been. I have been on a bit of a writer's block since writing this chapter, so I will be taking this week off to clear my mind a bit. However, this means that instead of one week, it will be two weeks until the next chapter is released. I apologize for this, but I guess you can say when you're writing with a major migraine, it doesn't help you get anywhere haha.
> 
> The next chapter will be released on 11/07/2020! 
> 
> Until then, thanks for following! <3
> 
> \--  
> EDIT: 11/07 - Hi guys! I'm almost done writing, but I found myself getting very busy this week. I only have two more parts of the chapter to write, which shouldn't take me long. Please expect the chapter hopefully tomorrow, 11/08. Working as fast as I can to get it up for you guys! Thanks so much for your patience <3


	12. The Dark Lord's Prisoner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crystal was placed on top of the lecturer’s desk in the classroom now before she reached into her bag and pulled out what looked to be… A small box? It looked like a music box at first, but upon her opening it, a bright light had filled the room. The group of fairies and heroes were stumbled back upon how bright the room had filled since at first, no one knew what was going on…
> 
> …That was until ‘Anna’ had stepped to the side and revealed to the group what exactly she had done.
> 
> It was… A call. A projection call of a man who had been standing there with his own serious expression to his face. As he stood there, the projection grew in size, to the point where it was as if another human being were standing in the room. No one knew what it was, or how the call had been taking place… But the second everyone had managed to catch the face of who the man was…
> 
> …Everyone’s jaws had dropped wide open.
> 
> A person they all knew.
> 
> ‘Anna’s’ head was faced down, bracing for what was about to come upon having to use the emergency call to this specific figure.
> 
> “ALFRED?!”

Watching ‘Anna’ refuse to answer the questions that were being asked of her was a concerning sight to the five fairies and two heroes that stood in the room. It was heavily suspicious to all of them, seeing that she hadn’t dared to question back or provide an explanation on how she was able to pick up the dangerous, burning filled crystal.

The sun outside had already begun to set. The lights were dim in the classroom while they all stood there in a small gathered group, while the anticipation of answers were lingering all in their minds.

The girl was silent upon pulling out a small, but beautiful box out of her bag. It was one that none of them had recognized. At first glance, it looked like a simple music box… But it wasn’t at all. There was no handle at its side, and all she needed was to open it with a small bit of magic. This being done with ‘Anna’ placing a finger along with its lock and a small glow of power coming from her before the lid of it had opened.

A bright light ensued the second the box was opened up. One that no one expected again, resulting in them all to shield their eyes as what looked to be a small projection began to form at first. In seconds as the light began to lessen, the projection grew more and more in size, to the point where the figure of a man suddenly had taken shape in front of all of them. ‘Anna’ of course, remaining silent as she stood there with head hung low; the guilt building up in her chest the longer she stood there. Especially with the thoughts of how she had lied to them all for so long.

The figure who stood there from the hologram peered down at everyone that had been standing in front of him. The entire group - who were absolutely speechless at that point - looked at the hologram for a moment before the fairies and Gilbert had blurted out in unison from the sight they were never expecting to see.

_“ALFRED!?”_

Even Alfred, who had been _physically_ standing in the room, found himself taken aback to see a hologram of him just standing there through the projection of the box. There were crazier things he had seen from his missions as a hero from UHB, but _this_ — **_t_** ** _his_** was the icing on the cake of craziest experience he had ever witnessed with his own two eyes.

This version of Alfred was silent though as he stared at the ground. From what they all could observe, he seemed to have been wearing… Royal attire. There was no crown on his head, but he had been in wearing clothing particularly connected to the Kingdom of Eraqion. It was a uniform... One that only higher-members of the royal council of Eraqion would wear.

And the physical Alfred standing in that room knew _exactly_ it was something he had never worn in person at all. It was clothing that his own father wore now… Which didn’t make sense.

What was going on?

The lingering silence continued to fill the room after a moment. It was at this point that the hologram now cleared his throat, before turning over to ‘Anna’ who seemed to have been looking down. That was when he noticed it… The tears beginning to well up in her eyes. What she had done was only necessary in the case of an emergency…

…and well, seeing that she called _him_ , it was a case that she really was in an emergency and needed his help.

The projected image of Alfred knelt down after a moment in front of ‘Anna’, giving the girl a reassuring smile before placing a hand on her shoulder. While he couldn’t actually touch her, the magic that was projecting him was enough for ‘Anna’ to look up with tears filling her eyes.

“It’s okay, squirt.” Were the first words that came from him, horrifying the group even more because this projection actually sounded like Alfred as well, “You did a good job making it there safely… Traveling to the past is extremely dangerous, but you made the right call using the emergency-cast.”

“I-I’m sorry!” The girl had brought her hands to her eyes, beginning to rub them quickly so she would hold back any tears, “I-I couldn’t stop it! The Dark Lord got her! I-I was too late!”

Too late or not, this was something that this projection of Alfred had already determined would be the case. He took in a breath and stood up now, turning to face the group of fairies, Gilbert, and the physical version of himself who were all speechless. No one knew what was going on… This was a whole new level of magic that they were all experiencing at the moment.

The horror was something that the projection of Alfred figured would be the case. And so, he had taken in a breath before speaking out to the group; his tone of voice going back from the light-hearted one that he was speaking to ‘Anna’ in, to a more mature, but friendly one, “…Hi guys.” He began, the horror building up even more in confirmation of that being a true Alfred, “I’m sorry for the circumstances of what happened. And I’m sorry for this meeting to _ever_ be taking place… But as I told _Anneliese_ , I only told her to get in contact with me if she was in a situation.” He paused, before turning his head back to the girl beside him, “I never wanted for any of you to see her, or even me like this.”

“Y-You’re a h-hologram?” Florentyna had been the first one to speak out after a moment of confusion that was filling everyone’s minds. She was horrified because now she was hearing new information that she didn’t know how to process. Who the hell was Anneliese — what was going on!?

“A… form that's not _corporeal_ , in scientific terms. This isn’t my actual body… My real body is in another room unconscious. Think of this form as a spirit that’s left its body. But, I will explain in detail what’s going on with me in a sec.” The projection of Alfred explained for a moment with a sigh, trying to put together the correct words that would make sense to all of them, “This call that we are having… Well, from this year and time, is being taken place _twenty years into the future_.”

Twenty years into the future!?

The physical Alfred in the room took a step forward now, wanting to better understand what exactly he was seeing. He took in a breath before speaking, “So if you’re saying this is a call twenty-years into the future…Then you are…”

“Yes.” The projection responded after a moment in confirmation of what was going on. Florentyna, Mei, Monika, Tatyana, and Elizabeta cast a glance over at the physical Alfred, then at the projected Alfred before the answer was confirmed once more, “I am the sole ruler of the Kingdom of Eraqion and Magic Dimension, _King_ Alfred,”

Gasps filled the room when this was said. Even for the physical Alfred himself, who was even more horrified to see his future self standing there as a King — he was speechless! At that current time, hell, he was in the process of figuring out details for his coronation that was to take place in the next year or so. He didn’t believe he was ready to be a King at all after he graduated…

…But the fact that his future self was talking to all of them and confirming his question, he ends up becoming a King after all!?

“Don’t look so surprised.” The projection of his future self looked at his younger reflection with a smile formed on his face, just imagining the emotions he was going through at the moment, “I know exactly the time and place of where we are, and you’re in the process of beginning your coronation next year. It’s true - I’m the future you, Alfred. As freaking weird and horrifying as it seems right now, where I am standing right now, is where you will be in the future.”

“This loser actually becomes a King?” Gilbert couldn’t help but to blurt out in panicked, nervous laughter while looking at the physical Alfred, then at the projection of Alfred, then back at the physical Alfred, “You’re lying. Nope, I don’t believe it—“

“I figured that’d be the case, seeing that it’s from you, Gilbert.” A smirk came from the King when this was said. Even Gilbert felt himself freeze on the spot upon being called out by the projection, since the way he had said it, it was exactly how Alfred would call him out in person if he was saying anything stupid, “It’s good to see you, man."

It was dangerous to talk about the future with past, former selves. So while the King had plenty to say to the group, and would love to tell his past self about the things he had endured, the projected Alfred held back from saying more. Instead, he had watched Gilbert sit down on a desk; bringing his hands to his head in horror from what he was witnessing.

Now, there was a bigger issue at hand that the King believed they all had the right to know.

King Alfred glanced down at the girl beside him who was sniffling to herself, trying to calm down and look brave at the moment. He knew exactly who she was, and the fact that she seemed to afraid in the moment, broke his heart, truthfully. Under the circumstances that they were all in, and he couldn’t be there to take care of her… It was hard. Especially under the position and role, he was coming in.

“I hope you all will forgive my daughter's frequent... sassiness.” King Alfred explained with a small chuckle to himself, looking down at the girl who was still as a rock now when the confession came out, “Back home, she's terribly spoiled by everyone… Me, her mom… everyone, really. It’s something that she got from her mom, which makes her unique and equally as powerful.”

Everyone had shot a look over at the King the second he had said this one statement out loud.

_…Daughter?_

Monika had been the one to burst in between the physical Alfred and Florentyna, looking right at the King with her eyes widened, “Please for the love of all that is good you did _not_ just say _daughter_.”

“Y-YEAH!” Mei blurted out as well with her own eyes widened in horror even more, “W-What’s a daughter!? Y-You’re j-joking-!”

A head shake was given by the King when the questions ensued. He figured this would be the case, which was why the questions did not surprise him. Instead, he turned to face the group with a serious expression on his face once more, instead of the famously, welcoming, happy one he always was known to have, “Alfred,” He turned to face his younger self now before motioning to the girl that was standing there in silence, “…This girl is _your_ daughter.”

 _“WHAT?!”_ What sounded like horrified shrieks came from the fairies from the room when this was said aloud. Even for the physical, younger version of Alfred found himself stumbled back seeing the girl standing there with her head down as she remained absolutely silent, not saying anything at all.

“I AGREE, BIG WHAT!?” Florentyna approached the physical version of Alfred, pointing a finger right at him with frustration brought to her expression, “WHAT IS THIS!? WHAT YEAR, MONTH, AND DAY DID THAT-“ She pointed to the girl, “- _HAPPEN_!? WHO THE HELL IS HER MOM, ANYWAY!? ALFRED!”

“I don’t even know—“ The physical Alfred blurted out in response while holding his hands up in the air at the sudden burst of anger that came from Florentyna.Clearly, he was shaken up equally, because never in his entire _life_ did he expect to hear news of a kid. He was only nineteen — and his future self was claiming in front of him that he had a kid!? With who!? “You and I have a billion questions, I never talked about that at all with—“

Even with the demanding questions, the King couldn’t help but chuckle since _that_ was a reaction he absolutely expected to hear. Even his younger self, whose face was red in horror while staring at the girl, didn’t even know what to say.

That was his daughter!? But how was that even possible — There was no possible way at all. Sure, he loved the idea of kids, but he mentioned that once to Natalya and she had blown off the entire subject as if it didn’t matter. He had been preparing a future without any children at all, at least - that was what he was expecting until he was exposed to the truth then and there of what he was seeing.

The King, however, had his head turned to the girl now before speaking, “Go on, introduce yourself… _Without_ lying. And without that terrible disguise, hun.” He began, “You look like you’re wearin’ a terrible Halloween costume from those sketchy stores in Moscow, ‘Lise.”

Without the lying… That was what she was doing that entire time. The girl looked over at the older man before nodding and taking in a breath, before taking a step forward and removing the glasses she had been wearing. The second she had done this, a bright light had formed around her body. The outfit she was once wearing, which had been a simple dress, while her hair was curled and was wearing make-up…

…She was now an entirely different person to everyone.

The girl who now stood there placed the glasses into her pocket. She now had been wearing a pair of overalls, a t-shirt, a pair of boots, as well as had her medium-length blonde hair pulled halfway back with a hair elastic. Her bangs were resting on her forehead while she looked up at the group with her bright blue eyes, hesitantly taking a small bow in front of them.

“…Hello.” She began, revealing herself in a full confession, “It… Is a humble pleasure to meet you all. I’m… Anneliese Jones, oldest daughter of King Alfred and Queen Natalya Jones of Eraqion. And the second Princess of the Magic Dimension and Eraqion. I am honored to make your acquaintance.”

“...Well, there’s the answer real quick of who her mom is.” Elizabeta couldn’t help but sit down at a desk herself; eyes still widened in horror, “I feel like I’m going to faint from all of this…”

“And the fact that she sounds like a Princess too…” Florentyna had managed to calm down now while she examined the girl. This ‘Anna’ person… Everything was a disguise. Her appearance, her name… She had dressed as this 'Anna' persona who seemed to have been your average girl who loved to wear pretty clothing. When the reality was, the girl was _opposite_ of what it seemed. She was… A bit tom-boyish from just observation, and was practically a spitting image of Alfred and Natalya with both their features combined, “Like a _properly_ trained Princess…”

Regardless of all the statements of confusion that came from the group, the King gave a nod of approval when the girl had properly come clean to the group, “Well done, ‘Lise.” He smiled at her as the girl looked up at him, the concern still filling her eyes, “Maybe less formality because I certainly didn’t raise you to be like that, but… I will say a respectful greeting is the first step to becoming a wonderful guardian fairy just like your mother.”

Anneliese could feel her face burn red in embarrassment now as the statement was made. The reality was that she looked up to her parents a lot… The fact that they were so strong and could fight when she was just a little trainee… It was a good feeling to hear that her own father acknowledged her strength at the moment. And strength now, seeing that it was he who sent her on this mission in the first place.

“S-Speaking of her mother—“ Monika had spoken up now while listening closely to the conversation that was taking place, clearly still trying to process the fact that the girl standing there was just more than a normal fairy, “Where’s Natalya? Surely she’s okay, seeing that you’re communicating from I don’t know, twenty-years into the fucking future?”

As the question was asked, the King went silent. This was a question he didn’t know how to answer for a moment before suddenly, his hands had gone into fists. It was a sudden change of tone… What was a normal, calm person, into one that was angry?

Had something happened in the future that none of them knew about?

The King took a breath now before turning to face Monika since there was no more further lying that had to be done, “She’s okay.” He answered at first, before trying to collect himself from showing his anger at the moment, “…But something happened to her because of _this_ specific kidnapping that took place.”

“What happened to her?” The physical Alfred in the room spoke up. If he was going to get any answers about the situation that they were potentially about to embark on, his future self would know it. The fact that Natalya in the future wasn’t standing right beside him was a clear indicator that something was going on… Let alone, it was just him in a spirit form - which meant it wasn’t a physical body as well, “…And what happened to you too?”

So he noticed it. This made sense to the King, seeing that it was his younger self talking to him, after all. The fact that they equally knew each other was enough for the older Alfred to close his eyes in thought, still trying to collect his words on how to explain it, “…I don’t know.” He answered truthfully, which had everyone taken aback.

“What do you mean, ‘you don’t know’?” Mei looked over at the King with her brows furrowed in frustration, “Clearly there’s a reason you sent your kid all the way here.”

And indeed, there was a bigger reason behind it all.

The King slowly turned over to Anneliese, who was now silent while she stood there. He knew that she was a bit sensitive from all that had happened, but he knew she was a brave girl. Plus, everyone deserved an explanation.

“…I’m serious when I say I don’t know,” He admitted after a moment to confirm, “Things were okay here in the magic dimension. Everything was normal… Nat and I, as well as your future selves, we were always doing our jobs as protectors of the magic dimension. It’s our jobs, minus our other two important roles… Being rulers, and also being parents… But suddenly one day… The Shadow Virus attacked Natalya, _again_.”

All of their eyes widened when hearing the mentioning of this. The Shadow Virus was something that all of them were familiar with… While Alfred didn’t get many details of what happened a few days ago, other than the fact that he was angry at Natalya for not telling him the truth - there was his future self, claiming that another Shadow Virus attacked the Queen?

“It was entirely unexpected. We managed to break her out of it, and she was on bed rest with a close examination to make sure that the Shadow Virus was out of her body…” The King further explained into detail; a small frown drawn to his lips as he explained this. He noticed Anneliese who had been staring at him with widened eyes since there were details he never told her about, “…I never told Anneliese about what happened to her mom, for the sake of not making people freak out even more. I’m sorry, ‘Lise… But we also couldn’t have you be exposed to it because you’re deeply rooted into the Dragon Flame and Heart of Ice.”

Anneliese’s eyes were widened. Sure, she had witnessed the Shadow Virus on Natalya in that current time era, but the fact that it happened again in the time she was from… She was told that her mother was sick for a while. And even when she did go to see her, she acted fine, joked with her like always, but she never could stay long. Only her father was allowed to be in the room with her, that was it. The fact that it was because a Shadow Virus hit her again…

The girl was angry at her father.

And that was something the King could tell right away.

“I know you’re pissed ‘Lise, and you have every right to, but hear me out. All of you too,” King Alfred paused for a moment, which was enough for Anneliese to stand guard, because she was close to blowing up at the older man for lying to her in the first place, “We had a confirmation that the Shadow Virus was removed from her body, and when things were what we assumed safe, Natalya was free to go… But the thing is that we all know her. Not just in the future, but in this time era too. She has a lot of secrets that to this day she still doesn’t tell me… But one secret I do know is that when there is something wrong, the Dragon Flame and Heart of Ice tells her. And she told me that the Shadow Virus wasn’t out of her system… But didn’t know when it’d attack her.” He explained, which made sense to the entire group. The King motioned to the crystal now, which had still been in its broken state, “None of you know what this is, but I do. This crystal is known as the _Legendary_. The Legendary is a piece of the Heart of Ice that protects each child of Sparx, created by Queen Alyona herself… I won’t get into detail for the sake of the future, but just know Natalya’s piece here is broken… Because of the Dark Lord managing to find it. The reason why Anneliese can pick it up, but I can’t, is because she is a direct descent and heir of the Dragon Flame and Heart of Ice from Natalya.”

A crystal that no one had ever known of before… And it sat there innocently right on the desk. No one had known how powerful it was, seeing that Natalya in that current time never talked about it. A piece of the Heart of Ice - which meant that it had an amazing amount of power. But this power could potentially be dangerous as well, by putting those who used it at risk.

Including the successors and owners of it as well.

“Having a piece of this crystal is almost similar to having control of its owner,” Were the words that came from the King after a moment of silence to allow the group to process it. He took in another sigh and examined the damage of it, before turning to face the group once more, “…and that’s what the Dark Lord accomplished, but it took him twenty years to build up the same amount of power as he did in your time to launch his attack on her. And so, Natalya came clean to me that if she got the missing piece back from the Dark Lord, she’d have full control of herself again and the magic dimension… _However_ ,” He paused for a moment, “As we were discussing plans, it was mutually agreed that Shadow Haunt was extremely dangerous to go in… And I was the one who proposed that perhaps we open the Realm of Relix, travel back to this time in the past, and prevent the kidnapping from happening so that way there could be time to stop the Dark Lord.”

The circumstances weren’t at all in the King’s favor. The fact that they were too late, well, now there had to be a bigger plan to be decided. Which was why he was glad that Anneliese called him in an emergency since while this plan was one that he didn’t think would happen, he made the arrangements to make sure his child was safe.

And so, he continued the long explanation and story, “I offered to go and handle the mission, but… A _person_ who has much more experience in the Realm of Relix told all of your future selves and myself that it would be extremely dangerous. If we were to encounter one another in person, there could be an effect in the time-space continuum…” He explained, not getting into the detail of who the _exact_ person was that warned them. After all, this was a future that he didn’t want to change, but it was an important woman who had knowledge on the subject, “So… I proposed what if Anneliese were to do it. She’s been training specifically under Natalya herself and I think I taught her pretty well with some sneaking tricks and combat, but her mother…” He let out a small, frustrated sigh while running a hand through his hair, “ _Wasn’t_ going to have it. And I understood why - it’s her kid. As a parent, your mindset changes a _lot._ My own parents wouldn’t allow me to do what Anneliese is doing right now, and you,” He looked over at his younger self, “ _Know_ this especially. But I tried to convince Nat that she could do this. All she had to do was make sure the kidnapping never happened without exposing herself. Anneliese is a smart girl, and a powerful fairy, she knows what she's doing. Natalya though again wasn’t having it, put her foot down on me, shut it right down on the topic, and that was that. _‘Keep the kids out of our work’_ , which I understand… But how else is Anneliese going to learn what we do if she doesn’t get that experience?”

Anneliese, who was looking down, couldn’t help but to mutter to herself with a small chuckle to herself, “…that sounds like her, alright.”

Indeed, she was used to her mother being very strict around her. But in a good way. She was teaching her all about the dangers of being a fairy but also being informative about how it was an amazing feeling to know as a person, you had the ability to help others if need be. There was also the overprotectiveness part of it as well that Anneliese was very well aware of… Both her parents were overprotective, but her father was more on the calmer side than her own mother.

“The arguing went on for a few days about what to do… Until ultimately, Natalya said she didn’t feel good and didn’t want to endanger herself to anyone… so going back to where she is, and where I am…” The King took in a breath now before looking forward at the group, “We’re both fine, but we’re asleep. Along with the rest of you all. Natalya said she was going to put a sleeping spell on herself to make sure the attack didn’t happen… And I told her she would be damn crazy to do it by herself, so I’m just doing my job to protect her, so I’m asleep with her as well. The only way I’m projecting myself to all of you is again, through a spiritual form. The spell was cast on me, but before I did it… I also gave Anneliese all four pieces of the Codex, allowed for her to open the Realm of Relix, and traveled here like I originally planned. Her mother doesn’t know she’s here… And even if she kills me after it, at least I know there is a chance what the Dark Lord is planning can be stopped once and for all.”

There were a lot of details in the explanation that was provided to them. What was a bigger confirmation was the fact that it hadn’t been their future selves who sent Annelise — It was the King — King Alfred, who had sent the girl there in secret. While their future selves were all asleep with the intention of protecting Natalya… It was exactly what they had to do in order to protect the Queen and guardian of the Dragon Flame and Heart of Ice.

“You said you and Natalya are asleep, right?” Elizabeta couldn’t help but speak up after a moment, since she had a question herself that she wanted to clarify, “…and we’re asleep too?”

A nod came from the King in confirmation of what was said. He didn’t get into detail about what had entailed with the whole sleeping spell process, but all he had done was take a step aside from the projection that was being made to the group.

And that was when they all had seen it.

Beds. There were beds laid out in rows, where all of them had been wearing what looked to be masks providing oxygen to all of them as they were in the sleeping spell. The physical bodies were moving in their sleep… And all of them could see it properly as well. Their future selves, all fast asleep. Lined up in a row of beds had been Florentyna, Monika, Tatyana, Mei, and Elizabeta… Followed by Natalya in the middle, then Alfred and Gilbert…

…All of them were there, alive.

“That is the most freakiest thing I have never imagined to ever see,” Florentyna couldn’t help but to gasp upon seeing the sight of them — twenty years into the future, nonetheless. All asleep, with no issues whatsoever, “How come our future selves agreed to do the spell as well?”

That was an easy question for the King. He chuckled for a moment and turned back into the projection, looking right at Florentyna, “Easiest question I’ve gotten all day,” He couldn’t help but to explain at first, “…because that’s what the hero and guardian fairy oath entails. You all made the decision to cast yourselves in the spell until a resolution was reached to keep Natalya safe… Even taking a moment to pause on your own families and lives to make sure that the lost piece of the crystal is restored so control can be maintained again, safely.”

It was a very impactful answer. The fact that they were all guardian fairies and heroes in the future… It was an amazing thing to see. As for when it would happen to them in the current time? No one knew. Usually becoming a guardian fairy and hero was determined after their third-years of training in school, followed by a lot of examinations and certifications by the Ministry of the magic dimension.

Even for twenty-years later, compared to when they all reached that accomplishment, it was a sign that they all followed their oaths very closely to protect the magic dimension at all costs.

“I’d often tell Anneliese the stories of the missions we went through together… Especially how amazing her mother is as a fairy,” The King spoke once more with a smile drawn to his lips; taking a moment to experience a sense of nostalgia just looking at everyone’s younger self, “It’s considered a legend here with our stories… Especially when it comes to the guardian fairy herself, Natasha Braginskaya, the sole protector of the most ultimate powers of the magical universe, the Dragon Flame and Heart of Ice… so before I sent Anneliese off, I gave her written spell from her mother to open the Realm of Relix in order to come here and attempt to warn you all without exposing her true self. The only way to save the future is to make sure the Natalya of this time is reunited with the missing piece of the crystal that the Dark Lord has possession of. She is the only one who can use it.”

It made sense of the crystal… Did the Dark Lord know of its existence? This was most likely the case, seeing how quick he was to devise a plan to kidnap Natalya. The thing was that he had held back until he had all four pieces of the Codex to engage in his attack, which was why the shattered piece was left. This led the group to wonder… If the main piece of the crystal was at Lenfia, had Natalya purposely dropped it before it was taken?

And if so, what was going on with the small piece that she did have? If it was going to be taken by Demande, then they had to hurry quickly before he forced her to give it to him.

“So, this comes with the big favor in part about the big mission you are all about to endure from this one event,” The King broke the silence once more after giving everyone time to collect their thoughts again. He exchanged eye contact with each person, including his younger self, to make sure that they were all paying attention to him closely, “Please, save Natalya. And please, find the missing piece of the crystal. Even if the Dark Lord has it, make sure to not leave Shadow Haunt without it. Anneliese will be there to guide you, because again, minus Natalya, she is the only other being aside from her mother who can use the crystal. I’m going to be real - the things you will see in Shadow Haunt, especially with Natalya, are going to be fucked up. Really, really bad,” He emphasized on this, “But you all will succeed. I just, am begging you all, please to save the crystal and my wife.”

Jaws were dropped when this was said aloud. While it wasn’t said out loud what the current relationship status was with Alfred and Natalya, the fact that they had a future child and he was King, while she was Queen… It all lined up at the fact that well, they were married at that point.

And marriage was something that the younger Alfred found himself baffled in. The only reason why he was shocked was seeing that the last time marriage was brought up, it was in a group conversation with Elizabeta, Tatyana, and Gilbert when they were first returning from Shadow Haunt after the mission of rescuing the Pixies… Marriage was brought up, and Natalya had laughed saying she’d get married in only thirty years.

Well, it was twenty years into the future — and the damn woman agreed to marry a goof like him? He had no idea when it would even be brought up… He was casually thinking about it but had no plans of asking a question so soon.

It was a curiosity of when it happened, but one that he didn’t want to know for the sake of wanting to experience the thrilling moment of when it did happy. He could go on the rest of his life happy knowing that there was a clear future for the both of them, that’s for sure.

“Hey, Alfred—“ Florentyna couldn’t help but to speak to the projection with a smile, which indeed caught the attention of the older man. As he waited for her to speak, the fairy took a step forward with a small smirk to her lips, “You can count on it. We all love Natalya as much as you do, so we’ll make sure to rescue her and make sure that well, you guys — and our futures, I suppose, are going to resume without any further conflicts… So we’ll make sure the missing piece of the crystal is found and reunited.”

“Also big agree too,” Mei followed-up while standing beside Florentyna; wrapping an arm around the fairy with a cheery smile. While this was still so weird to her, she played it off as if they were being given the opportunity to take on a mission, “If the magic dimension is in danger, that’s where we’ll step in.”

That was one good thing that the King was happy to see. While they were all nowhere near experienced as him when it came to battles and missions, they were in the beginning stages of entering a world of a lot of dangers. This mission in particular was one that he knew, would be the starting point of awakening them all to the true horrors, but amazingness, of saving the magic dimension.

A nod of appreciation came from the King when he heard this confirmation, “Thanks… One more thing too,” He began, now turning his head to Anneliese before he stepped forward and placed a hand on her head. While she couldn’t feel it, Anneliese did see the hologram shift, resulting in her to look up where she could see her father’s body lingering over her, “Because I’m here protecting Natalya, I can’t be by Anneliese’s side… I can’t protect her from where I am. And this kid… Is well, mine and Natalya’s _entire_ life right here.” He had emphasized this by touching the girl’s shoulders, giving it a squeeze. While she couldn't feel it, the concern on his face was enough to show that well… He was being genuine in the moment of how much he loved his child, “I’m _begging_ … That you guys please protect her and keep her safe.”

“Daddy…” Anneliese looked up when this was said, feeling her eyes beginning to water again from how worried her thoughts were at the moment. She was angry at the lying, sure, but the fact that it was really hitting her that she was nowhere near her family - it was absolutely horrifying to her, “…I…”

The thing was, hearing this begging tone of voice was something that the entire group wasn’t used to hearing from Alfred at all. He was pleading for his life then and there to have them protect his child - which showed that he wasn’t joking about the role of being a parent.

And that was when Alfred, who was physical in the room, took a step forward with a serious expression on his face. He reached over and placed a hand on Anneliese’s shoulder, resulting in the girl to look from her actual father, to the version of her father in a younger state. Alfred looked at his older self before speaking, “King Alfred… I’ll protect your daughter.” He began, “I would risk my life to make sure she stays safe.”

A smirk formed along the King’s lips when hearing this. Something about seeing his younger self speak in so much confidence made him realize that he really didn’t change after all these years, “You know, it’s kind of strange to be speaking to my past self face to face,” He chuckled after a moment, “I thought I’ve seen weirder shit, but this really tops the weirdness on a whole other scale.”  
  
“You can say that again,” The physical version of Alfred found himself chuckling as well. It was still a really strange feeling… Imagining the fact that he was talking to himself twenty years into the future. He thought he was annoying at first around others, but actually seeing and talking to himself - he wasn’t as bad as he had originally thought, “But I promise. I believe you when you say she’s yours and Natalya’s entire life, so I’ll make sure she gets back to you safe and sound.”

That was enough the King needed to hear. He nodded again in appreciation, before turning to face Anneliese who seemed to be startled in the moment of plans being made on her behalf. The hologram of Alfred knelt down and looked at the girl, staring at her while she looked right back at him, “Listen ‘Lise,” He began before poking at her chest in reference to her heart, “I love you a lot, sweet pea. Your mom and I may not be there, but we’re in here with ya, as cheesy as that sounds. You know what to do once you get the crystal. You’re a powerful fairy, and if you’re in danger, you do what your mom and I taught you. And please, be nice to all of them. They don’t know the shenanigans you pull on us back home, so at least keep their minds innocent of you until that time comes.”

“ _Innocent_?” Elizabeta couldn’t help but to whisper to herself.

“The hell’s that supposed to mean?” Mei questioned as well since that didn’t sound good at all.

Was Alfred and Natalya’s daughter much more mischievous than they all thought? That only their future selves were aware of?

A small nod came from Anneliese in confirmation of her father’s request. It wasn’t a request, per se… But more of, an order being made from a father to a child. It was very foreign to all of them seeing Alfred being the strict type of parent… Let alone, Alfred himself in that physical space had no idea that he became so serious. But it was understandable, seeing that he was a King and technically was looking out to protect his family.

“…Okay.” Anneliese nodded and rubbed her eyes. The fearful tears had disappeared and now she was beginning to calm down after taking a few breaths, “And what’s that supposed to mean!? I’m not bad at all—“

Not bad at all. King Alfred chuckled at this and stood up after a moment, motioning to Anneliese again, “I’ll apologize way in advance if she says or does anything… She’s just like me when I was a kid, but also very reserved like her mother. Please try to not take offense to anything she says or does, but feel free to call her out on anything she does wrong…” That was when he had remembered one more thing. Looking right at the group, the King spoke, “One more small thing… When you do find Natalya, _do not_ tell her who Anneliese is.”

Not tell Natalya of that present time who Anneliese was? The fact that she was her daughter? Seeing that Alfred knew, didn’t she have the right to know as well?

The thing was that, there was indeed a reason why the King was emphasizing this. And so did the physical Alfred in the room, which the King looked directly at his younger self to confirm, “You know why. Just please refrain from saying anything. The fact that we met, the fact that there is danger in the magic dimension, and the fact that Anneliese exists as well as for her being Queen. Already it’s bad enough that you all know, so if more details about the future can be refrained from being further exposed, the better. Do not let anyone know of this conversation.”

That was one thing that did make sense. The fewer people to know about the conversation, the better it would be for all of their futures. Let alone, the physical Alfred knew why especially he was emphasizing Anneliese’s existence… If the Natalya in their time knew the fact that they had a daughter, it probably wouldn’t be a good reaction from her.

So it would be best to refrain from exposing any more secrets to her, and allowing for her to genuinely enjoy life without having to think about the future.

“You all can do this,” The King spoke once more before leading into his final words of the conversation since he already needed what he had to say. He was confident that everyone’s younger selves would be able to accomplish this mission, and so, leading for a bright light to fill the classroom once more in front of all of them. King Alfred’s lingering voice in the air,

“… _Good luck."_

* * *

_A small light began to take shape in front of her. As she stood there in a pool of eternal darkness, Natalya stared at the light for a moment with confusion risen to her expression._

_It felt cold… She felt weak, her body hurt…_

_But she did maintain a bit of energy to slowly reach for the small light, “…what is this place…”_

_Grasping onto the light, it had vanished in thin air. It was as if her touch had been enough to have it disappear, which resulted in horror to fill her mind. What did she do? Had she scared away the only light source that existed in that very moment?_

_For once, she found herself unsure of what to do. She had to be brave for now as she stood up from her spot on the ground and slowly began to walk forward. It felt like she was in a dream, but she couldn’t tell with this negative energy clouding her mind. The longer it lingered, the more she found herself becoming frustrated._

_Natalya stopped walking for a moment. The darkness was continuing to creep up in her mind, to the point where she could feel a sudden, throbbing pain come into fruition in the front of her head. She groaned; holding onto it while desperately looking around for help._

_There was no one around her. She had no idea where she was… It was just her, and the existing darkness that pained her mind._

_“…please…” She began in a begging tone of voice, “I want to go home… Get me out of here…”_

* * *

A small gasp came from the woman upon waking herself from the dream sequence that had taken place in her head. Natalya’s eyes had shot wide open, to the point where she found herself being greeted to the sight of what looked like a singular light shining down on her body.

She breathed softly to herself while feeling around her body with her hands. It was… A bed she was on. One with sheets and that seemed to be very comfortable? What was this, and where was she?

She recognized the negative energy that radiated in the surrounding area. The energy that made her sick to her stomach, but she held back her nausea for the sake of trying to figure out where she was first before needing to panic or call for help. For now, Natalya pushed herself up from the bed and sat there; her eyes scanning along with the room she was in.

It… Was a large, grand room. A room full of pillars, what looked to be a floor made out of marble, and an existing cool breeze along her skin.

That was when it hit her.

Perhaps she had gotten up too quickly, because the second she began to look around, she felt the violent throbbing forming on the front of her head. Natalya gasped for a moment and brought a hand to her forehead; feeling closely before muttering to herself, “My head… it hurts…” She breathed in, wondering if she had taken a hit or something to experience this great pain, “What happened to me…”

That was when she heard it. The sounds of clinking along her body when she moved her arms and legs.

Natalya peered down at her wrist to be exposed to the sight of what looked like… A chain? It was a chain wrapped around not only her wrists but her ankles as well; restraining her to the bed that she was laying on. She didn’t have a good feeling about it at all… But what made it ten times more concerning was the fact that inside of wearing her original attire for earlier that day…

…She had been wearing a beautiful, long gown.

A white, beautiful gown similar to the one that she would wear when she transformed into her true self.

The skirt of it went past her feet, all while her bust had been supported with an upper bodice. Around its sleeves had been layers of fabric ruffled in lace, while on the back had been a beautiful shire-laced bow. Natalya reached over to examine the fabric, recognizing it as silk right away before placing it down. Her hair was curled was another thing she noticed, while she wore a pair of beautiful, silver-diamond earrings.

Someone changed her out of her clothes when she was asleep… And that’s when the memory hit her. Professor Ayron… He drugged her and kidnapped her. That was what had happened, in addition to her making sure she dropped the crystal that belonged to her. If there was anything she didn’t want being brought with her during that kidnapping, it was that one item that hopefully would be able to protect those at Lenfia enough from the dark magic from the Dark Lord.

The thing was, that as she fiddled around with the dress that she wore, she managed to locate something beside her…

…and that was a small piece of the crystal. Cracked from its main piece that she had left at Lenfia.

Her eyes widened upon realization as she grasped onto it; holding onto it tightly… She didn’t expect for a shattered piece of the crystal to follow her to Shadow Haunt. Perhaps because she had such a major bond to it through the Dragon Flame and Heart of Ice, it would be difficult to get rid of.

And so, leading to her decision to slip it underneath her dress. There was no place to hide it… Her body was weak, so she would have to rely on the clothing on her body for now, to keep its small amount of power hidden. All she was glad had been the main piece was at Lenfia, hopefully keeping her friends and loved ones safe from harm.

“What is this place…” She whispered to herself while fiddling with the chains around her wrists. They were securely locked with some sort of spell… However, the fact that she was drained from her energy - she had no power to attempt to unlock them. Not until she got a proper rest and wasn’t drugged up.

However, upon observing the area more, that was when she took note of something in front of her.

It was a simple fountain. It wasn’t running, but the body of water that surrounded it was enough to hint that it was a water source. The water wasn’t mainly catching her attention, though. What had her mainly focused on it, was the projection of…

…Her?

No, it couldn’t have been.

Natalya moved herself towards the edge of the bed with the little amount of slack she had from the chains on her wrists and feet, just to get a closer look. Her suspicions were correct… It was her, but it also wasn’t her at the same time. This version of her looked much older, and in dire pain, desperately calling for help. This version of her wore her family’s tiara, as well as the true gown when she did transform into the Princess.

She looked much more mature, wiser, older… And very experienced in fairy magic. It was as if she was going through something and in a result of that, experiencing great pain.

 _That can’t be me…_ Natalya thought to herself while she moved back towards the headboard of the bed; clearly very uncomfortable at the sight of it. Since when did she ever look so… Distressed and in pain? _There’s no possible way…_

_“I wonder if you’d like that hologram.”_

The new voice startled her from her thoughts. Natalya looked around in a panic since she thought she would be facing Ayron again. There was no point in trusting him at that point, which she was very hesitant about her surroundings. Though through listening, that was when she could hear the footsteps come closer and closer.

It was coming from behind her.

Quickly, she turned her head around to be greeted by the bright, red eyes of an individual she thought she’d never meet. She had heard many things about him, as well as faced many terrible things because of him and his way of getting to her through the witches…

…The Dark Lord.

However, he didn’t look like any normal demon that Elizabeta always described him to be. He looked like an ordinary man that radiated a heavy amount of dark magic, which made her extremely uncomfortable sitting on that bed, nonetheless. Natalya’s hands were in fists while she watched the man-creature - whatever it was - step around the headboard to observe her.

“Welcome back to Shadow Haunt, Princess _Natasha._ ” The Dark Lord spoke in her true name, this even resulting in a shiver to run down her spine. Gosh, sometimes she thought her true name was beautiful - but hearing it from the wrong mouth just made Natalya want to gag. However, the man paused before glancing over at the picture over the fountain, then back to her with a very obvious smirk, “…No… The future Queen of the Magic Dimension.”

Queen? Natalya was taken aback now while she glanced back at the image. Even though she told herself not to believe it - that was actually her? That image — there was no possible way. How could he have an image of her future self like that? It was impossible, he couldn’t have opened the Realm of Relix that easily with just all four pieces of the Codex… Right?

She turned her head away, refusing to respond or speak to him. Natalya knew where she was now, but wouldn’t dare give him the attention that he deserved. The Dark Lord saw this as a game though as he approached her; kneeling down on one knee in front of the bed; the smirk of his only growing more and more, “…that dress looks very good on you.”

No, she wasn’t having it. That was the one sentence which resulted in her to back far away from him; no where near the edge of the bed while she pulled the end of the gown close to her so he wouldn’t think of grabbing it. She glared at him, resulting in laughter to result from the man.

“I’m sure you know who I am at this point,” The Dark Lord continued; his arms folded right behind him before he stepped away from the edge of the bed, beginning to pace around it slowly, “The Ruler of all Dark Magic, the leader of all covens of witches and warlocks… However, for the sake of formality as we are both royalty, you may call me _Demande_.” He paused and looked at her, now holding out a hand in her direction, “Now, let’s sit down, and have a _long_ talk about why I’ve brought you here.”

Seeing that hand wasn’t a good sign at all to Natalya. Upon seeing the dark magic radiate from the palms of her fingers, she had panicked and brought her hands up to her body in attempts to form a barrier around her… But, it didn’t work. His magic had beaten her; now encasing her in what seemed to be a shadow of darkness. She couldn’t move her body, resulting in what sounded like panic to erupt from her.

 _Shit…!_ Natalya thought to herself as she looked right at the Dark Lord, who was peering at her once more, _I can’t move…!_

Now that he got her to sit still, the Dark Lord had snapped his fingers and what looked to be a chair appeared in front of him. Since he meant it about wanting to talk to her, he took a seat; staring right at her face, “I’m amazed how you woke up clearly from chloroform… I was told that humans from Earth are sensitive to it… But, that’s when I remembered, you weren’t _really_ born on Earth, hm?” He chuckled and leaned forward, “Makes sense for the body whose blood carries the power of the Dragon Flame and Heart of Ice.”

“—What do you want with me anyway?” Natalya blurted out at that point. Enough with this with him just chatting and taunting her, she wanted answers, “You stole all of the pieces of my father’s Codex, and now you have me. There’s a reason I’m here… But, you aren’t telling me, are you?”

A moment of silence came from the Dark Lord before he sat back in his seat. An intriguing question, but he believed she deserved the right to at least know. As he sat there in thought, he collected his words for her, “…You see, Natasha, there’s an additional reason as to why I purposely want to open the time and space portal… And you are part of that entire plan.”

Part of his entire plan? Natalya was intrigued even more… Did this mean he had wanted to capture her since the very beginning? But waited until he had all four pieces of the Codex before capturing her?

It was all disgusting. Fowl and disgusting to the point that she couldn’t even believe she was in the same room as someone so evil.

“Before I surrendered myself to Dark Magic, I was a magical being just like you. A researcher, who came to Shadow Haunt in order to better understand the differences between light and darkness,” The man first explained before resting his chin in the palm of his hand. As he spoke, he crossed a leg over the other, “However, one thing I came to learn is that being in Shadow Haunt, it despises any hint of light. I was trapped by the darkness and forced to surrender my heart… Which was perhaps one of the best things I had done for myself. _But_ ,” He paused for a moment, “I aspire to have more power… The more power, the more invincible I could be… That’s why I had visited the three ancestral witches for their advice on how to succeed in such a thing. With their guidance, they could lead me to the steps of becoming one of the most powerful. The thing was, upon encountering them, they told me that there was only one being in this dimension that had the most ultimate power… And that was a guardian fairy by the name of Alyona Braginskaya.”

Natalya’s eyes widened upon hearing this. Her… Mother? This was an already known fact to her and everyone in the magic dimension. He didn’t know until he met the witches who had destroyed her home planet? Her grip around her fists tightened a bit in anger. She couldn’t allow herself to get angry, no… Just listen to what the damn man needed to say.

And indeed, there was plenty more to Demande’s story that he had to explain to the girl, “I decided, fine. I’d take care of the Queen herself… That was until her guardians, the Company of Light, had found out about what I was doing. The Queen personally had me banished through the Realm of Relix to never come to the dimension again. The thing was, while the Realm of Relix is a terrible place to be trapped in,” He chuckled while running a hand through his hair, “It is a portal where you can travel in time… So I decided, what if I traveled into the future to see what exactly Alyona did… And to my surprise,” He looked at her again, “I never knew she had children… And her youngest daughter taking on the successor as Queen and guardian fairy of the Dragon Flame and Heart of Ice. Absolutely marvelous, in my eyes…” He turned to the projection near the fountain once more, “That was the first time I ever laid eyes on _her_. I told myself if I could ever have control of this fairy, the magic dimension would be mine. This was why I decided I would be the one to rewrite the chapter and create a new history of the magic dimension on my own terms... I called it, the Rebirth of History.”

Based on all of the words that the man was saying, it was enough of a confirmation for Natalya that the man was crazy. The fact that he had managed to travel through time once in order to jump ahead to the future, just because of her own mother sealing him away in the portal… It was a crazy decision to make. Yet, somehow he managed to get himself back to that current time. While time overall was confusing, what she found herself more shocked about was that the projection was truly her in the future.

It was one of the weirdest feelings she never imagined to ever be seeing with her own two eyes.

“You’re insane,” The woman spoke out after a moment; still being restrained by the spell he had cast on her body. She kept still, but her expression was enough to show she was disgusted by him, “Traveling back in time, thinking you can change my future!? I’ll never let you do anything to me, you demon!”

The entire time she spoke, her eyes glared right into his. Her expression was disgusted, full of anger and rage… If she wasn’t trapped in the current position that she was in now, she probably would’ve attacked him at that point. However, it was the way that she was staring at him that the Dark Lord found himself staring at her with that growing smirk of his once more.

“Yes… Just like that. Those beautiful eyes…” As Demande said this, he took a step towards the girl once more, “The first time I laid eyes on her… I never dreamed I’d see Queen Natasha making an appearance in front of me, even if it’s her younger self… The almighty goddess who is admired by all, while protecting the magical dimension with her friends... And I got the opportunity to see her face to face in that future,” The way she looked at him with such emotion and anger… There was something so thrilling and exciting to him about it, that he couldn’t help but continue, “The way she looked at me, with such coldness and hatred… Her eyes didn't think of me as a human, but one that only wishes for my death.” Slowly, he reached over with a hand to cup her cheek. Natalya’s eyes widened at this point as she attempted to force her head away, but she couldn’t, “Since then, I've never forgotten those eyes. I wanted to see her again and make her kneel before me. I had to have her, by any means, in any form. Past, present, or future. And I finally have you as my _pet_.”

Her eyes widened the second this was said. A pet? Did he have some sort of fascination with her just because he saw her in the future? She was extremely uncomfortable, and disgusted, to the point where she swore if he touched her one more time…

…She suddenly began to press her thigh against the bed she was in to see if _everything_ of hers was truly taken.

Based on the feeling of something tight around her leg, that was enough of a confirmation that whoever had changed her into the gown, hadn’t properly taken _everything_ that was on her body quite yet.

Demande however, was more focused on her while the eye contact was established, “Yes… Those eyes. Of such a beautiful ruler of a beautiful dimension... And I have her right in front of me…"

His hands began to lower down to her chest. That was enough for Natalya to feel something break inside her before he could dare land another hand on her. Within seconds, Natalya had whispered to herself, “ _Light,”_ Resulting in a bright light to form around her body to break off the dark spell he had cast on her.

There was a reason she had been feeling specifically around her thigh. Reaching up the skirt of the dress, Natalya had grabbed onto the man’s wrist and switched him from where she was sitting on the bed. While she was chained, she made sure to keep the demon pinned on the bed while she had grabbed his hand, placed it right against the headboard…

…before the knife she had kept on her body had plunged right through the palm of his hand.

The Dark Lord, stared at the woman, absolutely startled at the fact of what she had done. It was completely unexpected, but enough for him to cast a gaze over his hand to notice the knife. Since when did the girl carry a knife?… He didn’t expect someone like the Princess to carry a weapon, but the fact that she had pulled it out of nowhere when he didn’t see it…

…Did she have it all this time?

The simple answer to the question was yes. While she never told anyone that she carried a weapon, this was something that she had learned specifically from her father back on Earth. No one could be trusted until they proved their self-worth, which was why it was always important to carry a weapon for self-defense. The fact that he had begun to touch her body was enough red flags for her to determine he was sexually harassing her, before making the decision to pull out an attack without magic.

“Don’t you dare _fucking_ touch me,” Were the first words that came from the woman while she glared down at his shocked state, “I’ll slit your throat so quick that you won’t have a tongue by the time you’re finished with me. I’ll make sure you’re _dead_ if you place a hand on me.”

The threat was powerful. One that even the Dark Lord was surprised to hear coming from her mouth. He did, however, notice something about her that was quite interesting. He knew that she still had her magic, that was a given - no one could take the Dragon Flame and Heart of Ice. The witches confirmed this to him earlier. But the fact that she chose to go a physical route with him in attacks than launch a spell…

…Has the dark magic in Shadow Haunt slowly begun to catch up to her?

“I see my spell has already begun to take its effect on you, Princess,” Were the first words that came from the man after a moment. Natalya’s eyes widened, since he hadn’t been reacting to her threat at all. Instead, he had reached for the knife that was plunged into his hand; pulling it out and tossing it back to her as if it meant nothing, “The Shadow Virus will make sure to have its eternal resting place in your heart.”

The Shadow Virus? Natalya felt her eyes widen before she began to struggle underneath the chains, “What? There’s no way, a healing spell was cast on me for the virus by—“

That was when it hit her.

The one who had cast the healing spell… Was _Professor Ayron_. Yet, the Ayron that she had come to know throughout the past few weeks, wasn’t the man she truly knew at all. Upon her realization hitting her, the Dark Lord found a malicious grin form along his lips.

“Ah, so you’ve realized it finally,” The demon stood up; brushing off the hand that she had stabbed as its open wound slowly began to close by itself. The sight of it was absolutely disgusting to Natalya, but she refrained herself in the moment of saying anything, “Your _Professor_ is an experiment of mine. Lovely, isn’t it? He was the one who cast the Shadow Virus first into you, before suspending its dark energy temporary to make it seem like you were normal… But the longer you lay in dark energy, well, it’s easier to come back more permanently.”

More permanently. The longer she stayed in Shadow Haunt and allowed for her to be surrounded in darker energy, the more of a chance that it would grow inside her. That was why she didn’t feel good at all. She thought it was the same energy from the first time she visited Shadow Haunt, but now, it was much worse than before.

“I have no desire to have the Dragon Flame and Heart of Ice, knowing that it’s impossible to take it thanks to the witches telling me about their previous experience with you,” The Dark Lord continued while gazing at her, “So I decided… If I can’t have it, what if I had control of its guardian? Once you’re united with me, Princess, I’ll use the Realm of Relix to become ruler of this dimension by traveling in time… And making sure the future you see through that projection, _never_ exists.”

He was planning to alter her future. And in order to accomplish that, he needed her to do it. Natalya began to tug on the chains even more now; feeling her hands form into fists, “You can’t, I won’t allow it!” She snapped at the creature with a dark glare to her expression, “It’s my future, my life — you have no right to alter it at all! I-I’ll kill you!”

Laughter came from the man as he turned himself around. He was done with her and figured that he’d allow for the spell to take place. When she was ready for him, then he would return. For now, he began to walk away; ignoring her threats, “Please, feel free to make use of this space, Natasha,” He turned his head back for a moment, “It will be your eternal resting place.”

His footsteps could be heard as he walked out of the room, followed a pair of grand doors closing behind him. Natalya sat on the bed, in absolute disbelief while looking down at the chains that kept her secure on the bed. With a hand, she had placed her palm on the chain and squeezed around it…

…But focusing her magical energy into it, nothing had happened.

How long did she have until the spell would fully take place in her?

Her head turned down to face her lap while she sat there, unsure of what to do. All she could think of was picking up the knife she kept on her body usually, before looking at the chains and slowly picking at it while being lost in thought.

For the first time, she’d say in her entire life… She was scared.

There were many other cases where she found herself scared, but she never admitted it to herself. Deep in her mind though, the lingering thought of a dark spell living inside her expected to hit her at any moment… It was horrifying. It was as if she were being slowly tortured without feeling it, other than her body being drained and powers nonexistent from the dark energy.

She felt alone. No one was there… It all had been a normal day, midterms, before she agreed to go into that classroom with Ayron with the expectation that it would be another exercise to work on her powers of connecting with her true family. She knew she should’ve listened to her heart in the first place when she saw that bubble, but she didn’t. She trusted Ayron too much after all he had done to help her.

Establishing that trust was all part of the Dark Lord’s plan. And she hated that she allowed for herself to get manipulated like that so easily. She couldn’t transform, she had no way to contact for help, other than the sign she had left in that classroom with the crystal before she was taken.

The knife was placed down onto the surface of the bed. Natalya underneath her where she had the broken piece of the crystal hidden, before taking it out to observe it.

It was still beautiful despite it being broken. It was a missing piece of something whole, but it still radiated a powerful amount of power that could wipe out a person, maybe, if she had the energy to.

 _‘There’s nothing I can do…’_ Were the first words that came to her mind upon observing the crystal. She could feel her eyes begin to water, but immediately, she found herself wipe them away. No, crying showed signs of weakness, which was exactly what the Dark Lord wanted. She couldn’t allow herself to look vulnerable, because that was another way of allowing the spell to get to her mind. She sighed; biting down on her lip while her hands shook, ‘ _…Mama… why didn’t you warn me? You said you’d be here by my side… but where are you?’_

Nothing. No response came at all, which had Natalya’s hands turn into fists. Usually when she was in a situation, her mother’s voice would fill her mind and call out to her with those answers. But perhaps, the dark energy was too strong, to the point where it was blocking all connection that she had left of her birth family.

Including her mother, despite she once being a powerful fairy herself.

However, as she glanced down at the crystal, she remembered something upon first discovering it after her first battle against Gelinda near Lenfia… The one battle that she had fight against her to stop her attempt of taking over the magic dimension.

The words that came into her head upon the crystal coming into her possession…

_…The power of the crystal depends on your heart, Natasha. You need to fight this doubt, or else it will catch up to you._

Doubt… That was exactly what she was experiencing in the moment. That entire battle with Gelinda, she had doubt that she wouldn’t be able to beat her. She had doubt that she’d never be able to find answers about her birth family. She had doubts that she would be by herself forever with no one to go to… And now, she was having doubts again if whether or not she’d be able to get out of the situation she was in.

Looking at the crystal, she formed a fist around it and took a small breath. She was feeling tired… Her eyes were heavy, her head was hurting, stomach was hurting… But she ignored all signs out of her fear being caught up in the moment of the Dark Lord walking and touching her.

 _‘I can’t be afraid, can I?… If Demande was speaking the truth, I’m the next Queen.’_ Her eyes widened at this thought. Everything felt weaker all a sudden, before she looked forward, _‘That’s so hard for me to believe… As much as I want to protect everyone, how can I when I’m trapped like this? But…’_ She paused in her thoughts, _‘I won’t do it alone… Everyone will be there with me… I just, need to focus on my power. If that’s what my future entails, I can’t let Demande win… He won’t win.'_

She slowly laid down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. It was dark, with no lights at all. She couldn’t even tell if it was a ceiling with how dark it was in the room. The more she laid on that bed, the more she could feel her exhaustion beginning to catch up to her.

Was this it? The spell of the Shadow Virus beginning to catch up to her?

She had no idea… But if it was, she’d rather not focus on it. Instead, she focused on what made her truly happy. There was first the fact that she managed to discover who she really was, finally finding a group of individuals who accepted her for who she was… And then meeting Alfred - he was the best thing to ever have happened with showing her what love really was like.

Her eyes were closed now with these final thoughts. Before soon, she felt the exhaustion beginning to take over her body. On her chest, her hands held onto the broken piece of the crystal tightly…

…her only source of light left before vanishing into darkness.

* * *

A large ship had landed itself directly on the main campus of Lenfia. Students who had been passing by were startled to see the sight of it, seeing that the only reason why a ship would land there is if there was an emergency.

The thing was that a huge emergency had taken place, starting off with leaving that classroom after a very intense meeting with well, a call that took place through just a box.

It was already decided then and there with no hesitation that they all had to head out immediately. The heroes and fairies had made that promise to the King, which ultimately left that they couldn't waste any more time trying to figure out what to do. Going to Shadow Haunt was the only thing that they could do other than hope for another miracle.

The Headmistress was in favor of it. Seeing that both Alfred and Gilbert, as well as Florentyna and Elizabeta already had experience entering the dark realm, they knew what to expect. She had been hesitant about Monika, Tatyana, and Mei - but upon seeing their determination about going to rescue Natalya and stop the Dark Lord from whatever he was planning, they wouldn’t take no as an answer.

However, breaking the news to the Pixies seemed to be the hardest part about it all. The Pixies, who had been lingering in the suite the entire time the kidnapping and unexpected plan to go to Shadow Haunt was established, they were all shocked upon being brought outside where it looked to be one by one, each fairy had been going into the ship to get suited into protective gear.

For one Pixie though, having the news broken about what happened to her bonded fairy…

…Well, she didn’t take the news so lightly.

“WHAT!?” Homura had blurted out in a panic with her hands brought to her head; staring right at Florentyna who had been in the process of getting fit into fear seeing that she was the one who broke the news, “N-Natalya got k-kidnapped?! How is that even possible — no, it’s absolutely impossible!”

“…Nothing’s impossible, Homura,” Mei responded with a small sigh while she was seated in a chair, waiting for Florentyna to finish before she could go next to get the gear suited onto her body, “We may all be magical beings, but at the same time, we’re human. We have human bodies, we’re no different compared to people from Earth,”

“This is absolute insanity!” Rani perked up from behind Florentyna with a large frown to her lips, “So you’re going to just, go down to Shadow Haunt and get her?! Do you realize how DANGEROUS that is!?”

“Yes,” Florentyna looked over at the Pixie with a serious expression on her face. For the very first time, Florentyna wasn’t joking around like her usual self. She stepped off of the machine as part of the ship, where she had been suited into armor that fit around her body. Her hair had been pulled into a ponytail, while the armor she wore was grey with metal parts protecting around her chest, shoulders, legs - and even had boots for walking, “Natalya’s my best friend, and I’m not losing her like this at all….” She paused and looked down with her arms crossed, “…I’ll personally kill the Dark Lord myself if I have to if he lays a finger on her.”

Silence came from the ship when this was said. Even Mei and Tatyana, who was sitting there waiting for their turns, were shocked to hear a thing come from Florentyna. Monika. Elizabeta, Alfred, and Gilbert had been outside speaking with the Headmistress at this point with already being set to go, so it was only them who heard this.

“Wow,” Tatyana couldn’t help but to stand up as she approached Florentyna; placing a hand on her shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze, “…It’s okay, Florentyna… I’ve never seen you this angry before, sweetie…”

“Well, I am! And I don’t like being mad, but I just—“ Florentyna felt her hands turn into fists as she turned her head away, trying to hold back from showing just how angry she was, “I don’t know… Natalya’s like a little sister to me, and she’s done so much to take care of me in school… And just, after leaving that classroom with that whole call, I just… I’m scared,” She frowned, “I’m scared because if we fail this, this whole thing determines our futures.”

Her fear was valid and understandable. For Mei especially, she found herself stand up and nod in agreement all while Lara and Mei had been resting on her shoulders, confused on what Florentyna was talking about, “And we won’t mess up,” She reassured the other, “And don’t say, ‘oh, how are you so sure’? There are a lot of risks in life that sometimes we have to take,” She explained, “I’m just as angry too, so we’re going to make sure to end this with the Dark Lord vanished from existence. I’m not leaving until that’s made sure of.”

The determination that came from both Florentyna and Mei’s anger was definitely new for Tatyana. While she was angry, she restrained herself from expressing those emotions since she genuinely wasn’t an angry person at all. Instead, she cleared her throat and looked at Florentyna, “If you’re finished… Maybe it’d be best to take the Pixies out to get some fresh air so me and Mei can finish up in here.”

The last thing they all needed was for the Pixies to be asking more and more questions about what was going on with Natalya. For one, they didn’t know. But for a second, they made a promise to the King during that call that they wouldn’t risk leaking out any more information that they already knew. Especially seeing that it all was crucial to their futures…

…For their safeties, the fact that they were also participating in a mission meant for a change twenty years into their future - it was one that no one could find out. Including the Pixies.

The thing was that while the heroes and fairies were the only ones who knew what was going on, the Headmistress had already received details already of what was going on. Especially in terms of who ‘Anna’ truly was. She didn’t get any details specifically like the group had gotten, such as how she was a child fairy from the future. Radella only knew ‘Anna’ as a girl who had traveled from the future as a request from the Ministry of Magix to assist with stopping the Dark Lord.

…Even when the ‘Ministry of Magix’ at that time was technically, ‘Anna’s’ parents.

It was decided at that point that Anneliese would be attending the mission. There was no stopping it because if they were going to get anywhere with having a part of the Dragon Flame and Heart of Ice, she was the only other person who had access to it. As the King had said, Anneliese is a direct descent of the powers — she is the only other person who can use it.

For now, though, Anneliese had been standing watch by sitting down on a staircase near the ship. She had watched the Headmistress speak with Elizabeta, Monika, Alfred, and Gilbert, all while smaller ships had been arriving with the rest of Alfred’s team who would be part of the mission as well. Mathias and Antonio — two other individuals that she as well, immediately recognized.

It was going to be a group effort in order to rescue Natalya. That was why Alfred had requested for the Headmaster’s presence to be granted permission to have the rest of his team with the group because whatever was coming with going to Shadow Haunt, it was going to be extremely dangerous.

The thing was that while Florentyna had been stepping off of the ship with the Pixies, the bickering and panic only continued from Homura.

“I don’t care how dangerous it is to go!” Homura had flown up to Florentyna’s face with her arms crossed, “Natalya’s _my_ bonded fairy, and I’m going to go rescue her!”

“That’s sweet, Homura,” Florentyna looked at the Pixie with a small sigh, “But you have to remember, you barely survived the last time we were there.”

Her bickering was noticed by Elizabeta and Monika who had at first been listening to instruction by the Headmaster about in case they were to experience an emergency. In the midst of the conversation, Monika had been paying more attention, but Elizabeta had turned her head over to notice Florentyna walking over with Meri, Lara, CeCe, Rani, Ella, and a very loud Homura.

She found herself chuckling hearing how determined and worried Homura was. But Florentyna was right on the situation, which was why she had stepped away from the conversation for a moment to approach the Pixies, “Homura,” Elizabeta began, “You do realize that there are Shadow Monsters and Gators ready to pounce and eat you if you step one inch into Shadow Haunt.”

Florentyna shot a look up at Elizabeta when this was said. It was a horrifying statement, but the second that it was said, Homura found herself shrieking along with the rest of the Pixies to hide behind Florentyna.

“She’s right, you know,” Florentyna confirmed before turning herself around, only to see the Pixies huddled all together. She sighed for a moment and held out her hands for them to all sit, “Listen Homura, I think Natalya would want you to stay here where you’ll be safe.”

“Would it be that terrible if we came?” Meri spoke up on Homura’s behalf, which her voice was enough to catch the attention of the individuals who were engaged in conversation. Gilbert, Alfred, and Monika cast a look over to where the Pixies were flying with Florentyna.

This being enough for Monika to clear her throat before speaking out loud with no hesitation, “A Pixie’s chance of surviving a second trip to Shadow Haunt is less than 5%.” She began, which was surprising to them all since she managed to calculate it so quickly, “4.8% exactly. I did research about this while I was waiting to be suited up.”

“Well, there’s your answer,” Elizabeta responded since if anything, Monika was the brainiac of the group and did know more about these sorts of things.

“We’ll get you a souvenir while we’re at it,” Monika turned around now where she had been holding onto a small tablet. She had been showing something to the Headmistress and the Headmaster, who they allowed for her to bring it to the rest of the group’s attention, “We have a bigger issue at hand.” As she said this, she had held the tablet towards Florentyna and Elizabeta, “I simulated the landing of the ship, and it’s too big to land near the… South Entrance, you said?” She looked over at Elizabeta, who nodded in response, “Well, it’s not going to fit. The second the ship makes contact with the ground too, there’s a chance we can lose power.”

“Can’t you just use magic?” Gilbert looked over at the tablet and reached for it, resulting in the blonde to glare at her older brother in annoyance while he tapped away at it, since he minus her, knew how to use it, “A shrinking spell of some sort,”  
  
“It’s not easy, Gil.” Alfred interrupted the other now with his arms crossed, “You remember last time we were there. They have to preserve their magic as long as they can.”

“ _That,”_ Monika interrupted Alfred before snatching the tablet back and closing it; keeping it away from her brother’s reach who simply chuckled at her, “ _And_ we don’t know any shrinking spells with our levels of magic.”

“So, we’re screwed.” Elizabeta looked at her with a sigh of frustration. Monika nodded with a small shrug since she didn’t think they were necessarily screwed, they just needed to think of a plan, “—But what if we do what we did last time, and get drop—“

_“I know an expansion spell.”_

The voice had managed to catch Alfred, Gilbert, Elizabeta, Monika, and Florentyna’s attention as they all looked over to the side where the staircase close to the ship had been. Running down its steps, the blonde girl had walked down it with no hesitation upon hearing these worries.

The feeling was so _very_ weird for all of them. The fact that this girl — this girl was _technically_ the future Princess of the magic dimension… Let alone, Alfred and Natalya’s supposed daughter, it was all a new feeling that was still settling in. The thing was, Anneliese was speaking the truth when she knew the spell, and how to exactly use it.

“An expansion of the surrounding caves and darkness-resistance barrier,” Anneliese confirmed while looking up at the group; her expression determined to show she wasn’t joking, “Since I don’t think you realize that if you do a shrinking spell, all of us will be enclosed in a tight space and it’ll be nearly impossible to get out of the ship,” She explained, which all of them were surprised because well, they weren’t thinking that at all, “The expansion spell will expand the walls of the surrounding caves, making it easy to reach the South Entrance… and the barrier will result in an easy landing, so there won’t be any need to worry about the power going out.”

All of them were shocked. The fact that she had come right in with no hesitation with a response that… Well, they didn't even know themselves. She was _much_ younger than them, that was for sure… But if it was true that the King stated she has been trained directly by her mother, aka, the Queen of the Magic Dimension of that time — then there was no joking at all.

Her intelligence was extremely similar to Natalya’s.

Florentyna paused for a moment and approached Anneliese, looking at her with her brows narrowed for a moment before turning back to the group, “Welp, that solves that problem!” She began with a smile and patted Anneliese’s head, “If— Anneliese, was it?” She looked back at her before the girl gave a nod in confirmation, “Says she can do it, then I believe it.”

“An expansion spell… Why didn’t I think of that at first?” Monika couldn’t help but to speak in amazement while sliding her tablet into her bag, before raising a brow in amusement, “What other spells do you know?”

“Can’t tell you,” Anneliese gave a small wink before bringing her finger to her lips, “It’s a secret.”

Alas, the girl knew many. There were some secrets she had kept from the group for the sake of not exposing their futures as promised to her father. The last thing she needed was to expose more about her, but she figured keeping it at a subtle hint that she knew a lot was enough that they needed to know. Especially since most of these spells… Well, their future selves _did_ know.

The expansion spell? It wasn’t taught by her mother.

It was taught by one of them, but they didn’t know it.

The decision was made. When they were all closer to the cave, Anneliese would be the one to cast the spell in order to make the landing easier for them with the expansion and barrier spell. For all of them, it was a bit of a relief to have Anneliese around… While the thought of it was still weird to all of them, especially Alfred himself, at least they had someone who was experienced in using strong magic for emergency situations.

Final arrangements had begun to be made in the process of preparing for their departure. Everyone had been finishing getting into some protective gear and battle armor in case they were to fight… Which included Gilbert’s ten-minute training on how to use UHB equipment with the fairies, who were all absolutely lost on how to use it.

“Alright!” Gilbert had stood in front of the five fairies with what looked like a case in front of each of them, “In those cases, there are some extremely dangerous and expensive weapons… Because you guys are at high risk of losing your powers, that means you may have to use some of our gear to fight enemies… So, go ahead and open the case, but don’t touch what’s inside it yet.”

Inside it yet? All of the girls exchanged looks with one another when this was said, and did as they were instructed. However, for Elizabeta in particular, she found herself smirking as she picked up what looked to be the handle of a sword in the case. Gilbert had looked at the girl with his jaw dropped.

“Are you deaf?—“ He began while approaching her, “Seriously, _don’t_ touch it.”

“Or else, what?” As Elizabeta said this, she had pressed a button on the handle, resulting in what looked to be a magical blade stick right out of it. She held it away from Gilbert of course, before holding it up in the air to admire its beauty, “I’ve always seen my father use one of these — never got the chance to hold one in person, though.”

The realization began to hit each girl one by one. Firstly with Monika, lastly ending with Tatyana at the discovery that Elizabeta… Knew how to handle weapons? Seeing that she was so confident holding that sword in front of Gilbert, that seemed to be the case.

For Gilbert, however, he stared at her with his brows narrowed before rolling his eyes and stepping off, “Show off.”

“Smartass.” Elizabeta responded; holding the handle firmly while humming to herself.

Alas, continued the lecture from Gilbert with him giving him the brief run-down of each weapon. Firstly were the swords that were used at UHB primarily for fighting monsters… Then the bombs, followed by some shields as a form of protection. Then came to the fun weapons such as laser guns, which he allowed for each fairy to hold onto, but nowhere near place their finger on the trigger.

To some people who had been watching this, it was nothing. But for someone like Anneliese? She had been sitting there on the stairs with her jaw dropped; trying to hold back her laughter. Something about seeing fairies handle weapons… It was never a common thing — it just wasn’t! Even in her time, it wasn’t common at all. So seeing second-year fairies hold UHB weapons for the first time was hilarious.

Well, maybe not the first time for Elizabeta seeing that she only continued to bicker with Gilbert most of the time, but it was still funny.

“Poor Gilbert…” Anneliese couldn’t help but to sigh to herself while resting her chin in the palms of her hands, “She still teases him even in this time…” Since she was only there as a support and guide, she didn’t necessarily need the rundown for weapons. While she would only use magic in cases where they needed help, she was doing as she was told with her main objective being… Well, to save her mother’s younger self.

_“Teases him?”_

A sudden male voice managed to catch her attention. It was a voice that Anneliese immediately recognized just based on the tone of it. Upon slowly turning around, she had been greeted to the sight of the bright blue eyes that belonged to Alfred, holding onto what looked like a sandwich from Lenfia’s dining hall, as well as two water bottles.

To him, he was nowhere near surprised to see the chaotic mess of Gilbert trying to teach fairies who primarily used magic to use weapons. He understood the cause seeing that they were about to hop into a pretty crazy mission but hearing what Anneliese said was even more interesting. As he said this, he held out a water bottle to the girl, which she had taken with a small nod as thanks, “You mean in the future, we still get to hear this bickering _all_ the time?”

Did she expose information about the future that easily? Anneliese’s eyes widened for a moment in realization before she turned her head away, giving a bit of a shrug, “…I’m not allowed to say, but…” She looked down before laughing to herself softly, “I guess that gives a bit away.”

A smile formed on Alfred’s lips upon hearing this. Well, it was good to know that even as older adults, they still acted like the rebellious young-adults that they were now. He had sat down next to the girl, this time holding out half of the sandwich to her he had gotten, “Here,” He began, “I promised your dad I would take care of ya, so I hope you don’t mind turkey.”

Anneliese wasn’t expecting that at all. She looked at the sandwich for a moment and took the half… Part of her knowing that she swore she could eat an entire feast since she was starving. But she was always hungry, this wasn’t new at all, “Thanks,” She began before examining the contents of the sandwich. Followed by this, her eyes widened before within seconds, the girl had brought it to her mouth and took a large bite out of it.

If there was one thing that reminded her of home, it was this sandwich for sure.

Seeing how eager the girl was to eat had Alfred’s eyes widen in a bit of a surprise since he didn’t expect for her to be _that_ hungry, “Damn, if I knew you were starvin’, I would’ve gotten something sooner,”

The girl shook her head upon being told this. After swallowing, she had placed it down into her lap and reached for the bottle of water to take a few sips out of it, “No no, it’s just—“ She cleared her throat before looking down at the food, “—it’s the exact same as the one… my dad makes for me.”

Then it hit him. The awkwardness again where Alfred couldn’t help but take in a breath before looking at his own sandwich, followed by taking a bite out of it. It was still weird to him… But that was how crazy magic was. These things were expected… Yet, he wasn’t expecting to learn a lot about his future during that one call earlier. Not only does his coronation go smoothly with becoming King, which he was actively planning for… But, he has the courage to _propose_ to Natalya, when she said weeks ago how she wasn’t interested in marriage at all to his face? And the one night they were alone together, he jokingly brought up kids, she said she’d never had them…

…yet, _everything_ changed from what she said.

“You know, it’s funny,” Alfred couldn’t help but speak before sighing softly and looking at the girl, who was still occupied eating her own food, “Natalya hates it when I make specific foods… And not in a bad way, just because she thinks it’s unhealthy… so hearing that is just, hilarious to me.”

“Oh, she still hates them,” Anneliese confirmed to the other; looking right back at him while taking a bite out of her sandwich. Alfred felt his jaw open slightly in shock, seeing that he didn’t know how to respond to a statement like that… Anneliese on the other hand cleared her throat before placing the sandwich back down on her lap, “…she always says it like, ahem,” She cleared her throat, _“Stop feeding that shit to Anneliese because it shouldn’t be legal to throw meat, sauce, and bread without lettuce into a sandwich.”_

The mocking tone of voice that came from Anneliese had Alfred burst out laughing. There was something so spot on about it, that he found himself sitting back for a moment to calm himself, “I’m sorry,” He chuckled and looked at the girl, “That sounds like her… but then I understand where she’s coming from since Russia is a whole different culture compared to here in the magic dimension…”

That was a nod that Anneliese could confirm on. While she grew up primarily in the magic dimension, it didn’t mean that Earth was completely ignored from her life. She wouldn’t get into much detail of it, but living the life as both a normal girl from Earth and a Princess was definitely a unique situation, “At this point, mama has chilled a bit with the whole thing because sometimes she’s busy doing work, so on those days, I get whatever I want.”

Busy all the time… Well, if she was the Queen of the Magic Dimension in the future, wouldn’t that mean he was the King? It was the weirdest thought to his mind, but Alfred couldn’t help but to find himself asking, “…do… uh, Natalya and I bicker all the time like that?”

 _“No way,”_ Anneliese shook her head immediately with a gasp, which Alfred was surprised to hear. Sure, they’ve had their small fights, but the fact that the girl was so confident about answering this shocked me, “Actually, yes and no. Yes because it’s stupid fights, no because nothing big ever I’ve seen,” She clarified to the other while holding onto her bottle of water, taking small sips as she did so, “The last fight I remember… Oh, was because of something stupid, like sleeping with the window opened. Pops said there needed to be fresh air in the room, but mama said that’s just asking to get pneumonia. So, stupid things like that.”

Stupid little fights. That amused him a lot, but at least he knew that things were great for them in the future. It put his mind a bit at ease… Yet, Alfred couldn’t help but to wonder exactly about a few things. He looked over at Anneliese for a moment while she was in the process of finishing her sandwich, “…can I ask another question?”

What was with all the questions? Anneliese looked at the man with her brows furrowed and her cheeks puffed out slightly in response out of suspicion. For Alfred, he found himself taken aback seeing that expression… Because he swore he didn’t see Anneliese there, he swore he saw a little version of Natalya right in front of him, which made it even weirder to him.

Alas, he began with his question, “…Can I ask how old you are?”

_“Nope.”_

That was a quicker question than he was anticipating. At the mentioning of this, Alfred leaned forward in curiosity, “Oh? And why not?”

“Because I’m not dumb at all like _you_ ,” Anneliese took another bite out of her sandwich, followed by looking ahead to watch the scene of the training. Looks like Gilbert had finally brought out the shields next for the fairies to try. Even Alfred was taken aback by this because he knew he could be dumb sometimes - but the fact that this girl didn’t hesitate at all? “If I told you my age, you’d be able to subtract that from twenty years into the future, and then you’ll figure out when I ‘ _happen’,”_ She took another bite out of her sandwich, smirking at the other, “Next question.”

Damn, she was good.

The reality was that Anneliese was purposely not saying anything to hold back from spoiling the future. It was one thing that she promised her father before she had left, was to not tell his past self about any specific details… That included her age, which she rightfully stood at the age of fourteen while sitting there.

But this Alfred would never find that out and never have the chance to calculate.

He blinked for a moment before crossing his arms, since if she was going to be a bit tough about the questions… “…When’s your birthday? Just the month.”

Day and month… Well, she figured that wouldn’t be a hard question. Unless he was planning on tracking back…? No, she couldn’t risk it, “Nuh uh, not saying,” She responded once more, “But if you’re that eager ‘Mister _I won’t stop asking questions until you tell me,’_ my birthday falls on a 28th. Happy?”

That definitely didn’t give him any leads at all. Alfred nodded for a moment before crossing his arms, “Alright smarty, I’ll give ya that one. Can I at least ask a bit of a serious question?”

A serious question? Anneliese had already finished her sandwich at that point, to where she wiped her fingers away with a napkin it had come along with before she spoke, “As long as it’s not as detailed, then go for it,”

_“…Am I a good King in the future?”_

That was a question she wasn’t expecting at all. She looked at the other with widened eyes, as if he were crazy for asking it.

The thing was, that he did have a good reason. One of the biggest concerns he had was for his coronation that would be taking place the following year… He didn’t feel like he was ready to become a King and take on such major responsibility. It was why he had been planning to ask his father for an extension after he graduated from UHB to have some time to be trained before hopping into the job.

He was still in the mindset of a Prince. A King, though? He felt nowhere near ready for… Besides, he would like to at least enjoy his life as a hero before jumping into such major responsibility.

“It’s a bit of an out-of-the-blue question, I know,” Alfred admitted after a moment. It was at this point that he had finished his own sandwich before clearing his throat, followed by swallowing some of his water to wash it all down. After putting the bottle down, he looked down at Anneliese, “…I don’t know if… Well, your dad told you about what time this is. But… Technically, I’m supposed to become King next year following my graduation… and I don’t think I’m ready for it at all,” He explained with clarification, “And then it’s weird… because well, I’ve been… sort of trying to plan a future with Natalya, but she’s made it very clear that she doesn’t want to think about marriage, ruling - _none_ of that at all. But the thing is that once I become a King… I have to find a Queen within six months… so do you know how my future self does it?”

It was a very intriguing question. One that Anneliese found herself looking at him with shock before answering with no hesitation, “That is the _easiest_ question I’ve heard from your mouth this entire time,” She began, because those birthday questions were the hard ones she had to say no to, “One that I can actually answer… And the answer is, yes. I mean, Eraqion isn’t blown up, so I think you’ve done a great job,” A hint of laughter came from Alfred when she said this, since she had a point, “Everyone admires you and Natalya, a lot. No — not admire, _love_ you guys a lot, it’s actually not funny because I’m serious. Mama is doing her job as a guardian fairy, and you’re doing your job as a hero… But as rulers too, you guys have done great things like created scholarships for low-income magical beings to come to these schools, another recent one was you just signed a contract to start a fundraiser for children in adoption shelters to get them into loving homes — it’s _all_ amazing things.”

All of this was shocking to Alfred when he had heard this. While he had a lot of ideas on what he could do as King, those were just some of the ideas that he was starting to draft up. He wanted to propose fundraisers and different ways to help the Kingdom, especially for those who were in need, when he became King. So the fact that Anneliese was confidently confirming that he was doing all the right things - well, that put his heart and mind at ease.

“My advice is just… Keep doing what you’re doing now, like for example, how we’re going to save Natalya — that’s a good thing… But as for the marriage part…” She shrugged before looking down. It was a weird question for her, but she’d try her best to explain it so it made sense, “I actually _don’t_ know, because pops nor mama have told me at all other than where it was, the date, and what happened… Nothing with the planning stuff at all. I think what my dad did was just, follow his heart and did what he believed it, by being himself,” She paused for a moment, “…that’s what mama said to me… If I had no idea what was going to happen or what to do, just follow my heart and connect with your true self… Minus the part of calling it cheesy, but she said it’s helped her and many people she knew when they were in conflicting situations.”

Following one’s heart… Well, while Alfred didn’t think the time was now to bring up such a thing to Natalya when he saw her, he was more confident about it. He had no idea when or how, but Anneliese was right. His heart would know when it was time, and when it did, would come the path unlocking on walking down that long road.

Their conversation took place during the span of minutes that it took for ‘Gilbert’s last-minute’ training session to come to a completion. If they were going to succeed in this mission, the girls needed to know what they were doing upon entering Shadow Haunt. Seeing that the second they stepped in, there was a risk that their powers would disappear temporarily due to the heavy presence of dark magic.

They would all have to preserve their magic as long as they could until their time was needed.

When finished, everyone had gathered onto the ship. The plan was established, now all they needed to do was execute it. Of course, minus the Pixies, seeing that they were at high risk of getting killed if they were even brought back to Shadow Haunt in the first place. The departure was made after the last few reminders from Radella to be careful, as well as how if they needed her, to contact her immediately.

Radella would be staying in moderation of the Ministry of Magix to observe the situation, as well as serve as back-up if the students were to find themselves in danger.

And so, everyone had been seated in the aircraft and was off into the air. As usual for Alfred’s team, he had been serving as a pilot, Gilbert as co-pilot, while Antonio and Mathias had served as moderators on the main motherboard to make sure there weren’t any issues during their travels.

Everyone had been seated in their own individual chairs. The same feelings were running through everyone’s minds - and that was worry. Worry for what could happen to them, worry about Natalya — and then there was what if the Dark Lord indeed was successful in his mission?

Would things be easy to save the magic dimension?

Including their futures?

That was a question no one didn’t know the answer to. Even for Anneliese, who had been staring down at the ground the entire time with her heart beating in fear and concern, she didn’t know what was going to happen. The magic dimension was fine with her until everything just seemed to have gone wrong. It was no one’s fault — it was something she couldn’t control, but she felt like she was at fault for not at least helping sooner when it was proposed she take this mission.

While she was quiet, her anxiety didn’t seem to pass through Tatyana’s vision.

As they all sat, Tatyana had been observing the girl silently. While she had a book out to make it seem like she was reading during their travels, seeing that each person was occupied in their own work - she wasn’t. She noticed how the younger girl was silent, kept looking down, and had the tendency to pick at her clothing or her legs bouncing up and down… Clear signs of anxiety, which naturally as being a fairy, she closed her book and wanted to step in.

The sounds of footsteps managed to catch Anneliese’s attention upon spacing out to herself in thought. Before she could even realize, she could see a shadow lingering over her, which had the girl look up immediately to be greeted to the sight of bright-green eyes belonging to a familiar face that she knew quite well.

However, the version of this individual didn’t.

“How are you feeling?” Tatyana broke the silence after a moment noticing that she had startled the girl. She didn’t mean to and based on her body language, it was a sign that she was there to help the girl remain calm while they traveled. The brunette took a seat as the younger girl shrugged, watching her closely, “Sorry if I startled you, honey.”

The blonde looked up from her spot and shook her head immediately at the apology, “Oh no, it’s okay. I was just… disassociating.” Anneliese blurted out, since well, she didn’t know how to describe it. This one word though, was enough to erupt a hint of laughter from Florentyna who was in the process of painting her nails.

“At least she’s honest about it,” Florentyna began as the other two casts a glance over at the other, who was in the process of blowing at her nails to dry them, “Not a lot of fairies are honest, so.”

“Nevermind her,” Tatyana waved a hand at Florentyna as if to dismiss her because she certainly wasn’t helping out in the situation. It was at this point now that she had the other girl’s attention, she smiled at her and leaned over in interest, “I suppose… I didn’t give a proper introduction to you earlier, hm? You said your name was ‘Anneliese’, am I correct? It’s a beautiful name. It’s a pleasure to get to know the real you.”

She was being unbelievably nice. Anneliese found herself shocked at the moment, but she figured the only reason why the other girl had approached her was simply out of nature as a fairy. That’s how fairies usually were… Very nice, very welcoming… Yet, she liked to classify the fairies she knew as ‘special cases’ based on personality.

Tatyana was a genuine fairy who seemed innocent in the situation, which of course, the girl played along with, “T-Thanks,” Anneliese responded with a small smile to herself and sat up to fix her posture, “I’m… sorry I lied about the whole ‘Anna’ persona… You understand where I’m coming from now with my whole situation, so…”

That was right. Anneliese had used a fake name that entire time she had gotten to know the group for the sake of hiding her true identity… As well as had cast a spell to hide her true appearance. It was an amazing tactic, really. But she had to reveal herself due to the situation she was in - especially after exposing herself and revealing she was an heir to The Legendary.

“Anneliese — that sounds like a name for a royal,” Florentyna’s attention was caught as she put the nail polish away. Tatyana’s eyes widened at this point before facepalming, because if there was anything that had to do with royals - _of course,_ Florentyna was the first person to inquire about it! And indeed, Florentyna do did move her seat a few inches closer to Anneliese while resting her chin in the palms of her hand, “So, you’re a Princess? Fully Eraqion blood? Which means Alfred in the future must’ve given you _that_ name, right?”

All of the questions were unexpected. One that Anneliese couldn’t help but sit back to while she couldn’t help but to notice panic form on Tatyana’s face. She wasn’t offended at all. If anything, she gave a small shrug at the mentioning of being a Princess, “Technically, yes… And well, I was born in Eraqion, so another yes… And well, actually,” Anneliese paused for a moment; casting a glance over at the version of Alfred that seemed to be focused speaking into a headset, before turning her head back to Florentyna, “…No. My _mom_ did.”

Silence came from both Tatyana and Florentyna at the confession. The… Future Natalya had named her? That was shocking to the both of them - because to their knowledge, Natalya wasn’t really the creative type at all. This was just given a fact. It was still very weird to them that technically she was the future Princess of the Magic Dimension, but Florentyna took the courage to inquire, “Really? She may be royal blood, but she acts no where near like a royal—“

 _“—It’s a religious name.”_ Anneliese interrupted now.

“What.” Florentyna stared right at the girl with flat-out confusion.

That was the one thing that the two didn’t know. For them, they expected her to be a full-blown magical being of the magic dimension… No where else, right? The thing was, most of her life, she had a very heavy involvement on Earth, “It’s a Dutch name, means ‘Grace of God,’ Аннелиз,” She explained, “Mom’s Roman-Catholic like every other Eastern European, duh. But I doubt she ever said anything because religion doesn’t exist in ‘this part’ of the universe.”

None of those terms made sense at all to the two. However, for one thing, Tatyana couldn’t help but to tilt her head slightly seeing that the girl had said a word in a different language at one point, “You said something different—“ She commented, “Do… You speak more than just English?”

A brow was raised when this question was asked. Was she giving them too much detail? Anneliese didn’t know as she shrugged and crossed her arms over her chest. It shouldn’t be bad to tell them - after all, they do know who she was, as well as where each of her true parents originated from, “Yes. English is native in Eraqion, but I know how to speak Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Polish, and I guess I know a little French because we go to Paris every Christmas—“ Her eyes widened as she covered her mouth, thinking she said something bad before lowering it, “Sorry… I just, I have to be careful what I say.”

Both of their jaw-dropped expressions were nowhere near enough to describe how Tatyana and Florentyna were in the moment hearing such a thing.

“She speaks more than one language,” Were the first words that managed to come out from Florentyna’s mouth before she stood up, going back to her seat at that point with her hands brought to her face. Seeing that it still was a process to understand that the kid was a future child of Natalya and Alfred’s — well, she knew Natalya was smart, and she joked a lot growing up with Alfred that he wasn’t really smart… But if she knew how to speak that much, her genes must’ve been insane! “…I’m gonna ask Nat if I can learn Russian.”

Laughter managed to immediately erupt from Mei when she heard this. Her laughter managed to catch Florentyna’s attention, which the fairy of music had lowered the headphones she was using before waving her hand, chuckling now, “Sorry sorry,” She began, “But I’d make it a goal to graduate from Lenfia _first_ before learning a different language from Earth.”

“Are you suggesting I’m not smart enough to graduate from Lenfia?” Florentyna glared at the other with her arms crossed.

“No,” Mei shook her head and sat up since she didn’t mean to offend the other, “I’m saying if the workload that we have now is going to get ten times worse this upcoming semester and next year, then I wouldn’t worry about Earth-related things for now.”

“Says the one who wants to become an idol all while doing school at the same time.” Florentyna snapped back, which immediately had what sounded like a voice clearing from a microphone came from the front of the ship.

 _“Ladies please,”_ As the voice rang throughout the ship, everyone’s attentions were diverted to where Gilbert had been sitting in the co-pilot’s seat; a headset on his head with a microphone attached, “Remain in your seats until our arrival because I’m responsible if you hurt yourselves — not your grades, which shouldn’t be a priority right now.”

Alfred rose a brow upon hearing this from the other. At that point, he had set the ship to auto-pilot before reaching for the headset on his end; putting it on before clearing his throat and speaking clearly into the microphone, “Consider this your first lesson, _syad' svoyu zadnitsu_ (Sit your ass down).”

“What the hell!?” Florentyna blurted out upon immediately recognizing the language that Alfred was speaking, which for everyone on the ship, they were shocked to hear, “How did you—“

It was at this point that the headset was turned off because for one thing, it was annoying with its speaker blasting throughout the ship. Second, he could speak normally seeing that Florentyna was behind him, which resulted in Alfred slowly turn his chair around with a small smirk to his lips, “You forgot I’m the one dating the girl who speaks Russian around here. I’ve heard everything…” He paused before letting out a nervous chuckle, “…even if I don’t know what it means other than learning it from Natalya yelling it at me.”

This made more sense. Even for Anneliese, who was indeed shocked to hear the familiar motherland tongue from the man, she was speechless. She found herself chuckling as well, all while looking down and muttering to herself with a small smile.

_“Not bad, old man… not bad.”_

* * *

The remainder of the trip had been the main focus to arrive at the realm safely and indiscreet of making sure that the Dark Lord hadn’t been aware of their presence. The men who were controlling the ship, with Monika under moderation to make sure there hadn’t been any dark forces following them, their arrival to the main entrance of Shadow Haunt took just about an hour.

The area was surrounded by darkness. There was no trace of light, that for those who sat near the windows of the aircraft, it was almost as if they had arrived on an abandoned planet. This was only the first part of getting to the main entrance, which at that point, Anneliese would come in with the expansion spell to extend the inner cave’s walls.

For now, they had to be cautious about their arrival. The spell wouldn’t be able to cast if there were multiple enemies surrounding the area.

“It’s very quiet around here,” Monika couldn’t help but comment as the ship’s speed had begun to decrease. Seeing that they were about to approach the entrance, she looked over at Anneliese who had been standing herself to look out the window to observe, before clearing her throat, “Anneliese, do you think you can prepare that expansion and resistance spell?”

“I can,” Anneliese looked back at the other, “…But it can’t be here.”

Not there? Monika turned to face the younger girl while crossing her arms, “Why not? Is it hard?”

“…No…” There was a moment of silence that came from Anneliese while looking out the window. Perhaps it was the fact that they were in a darker area… But in the pit of her stomach, she didn’t feel good about something at all. There was another lingering darkness in the area, but she had no idea what it was, “Just… We need to keep going, it’s not safe here to cast it.”

“Well, it’s not safe anywhere here,” Gilbert commented to his sister while keeping his hands on the control of the co-pilot seat, which resulted in glare from the blonde, “Just be patient with the kid, Moni. Trust her—“

“But something _isn’t_ right at all here,” Anneliese interrupted once again, which at this point, had managed to catch the attention of Alfred, Mei, and Elizabeta who were once focused on continuing travel. But hearing the girl speak, it was concerning, “Near the ship - I swear I can sense another dark energy here.”

“I think you’re just worried,” Florentyna reassured the other by placing a hand on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze, which startled Anneliese at first as she looked over at the other, “We’re okay. The first rule in any mission is to not panic,”

To not panic… How was she not supposed to panic when her power was warning her of another presence?

And indeed, another presence did linger just a mile ahead from where the ship had been going to.

At the entrance of the realm, three individuals stood there with their eyes narrowed ahead, waiting for the bait of magical beings to come at their direction. The order was clear by the Dark Lord - if there were to be any intruders during his plan, kill them.

Make sure they do not have access to the realm’s entrance.

The sound of a ship flying managed to meet their ears. Gelinda found a small smirk form along her lips before she cast a look to the other two witches beside her, “Hm… I wonder how fast it would be to destroy the ship that’s coming this way… You hear it too, don’t you, sisters?”

“Indeed…” Aviana hummed in response while examining her nails. It was at this point that she had jumped into the air; flying easily thanks to the new abilities that the Dark Lord had granted to them. She focused her eyes ahead, catching sight of the top of the ship. It wasn’t close, but it wasn’t far either, “Only a few seconds to destroy it… But I’m more of a _torture_ kind of person before murder, you know?”

Nebula let out a hint of laughter to this claim. With the snap of her fingers, what looked series of clouds began to gather in the sky, “I have the perfect idea for this, then,”

Torture was the best thing to do with any intruders. Especially with magical beings of light - it was more fun to commit murder if there wasn’t any taunting or torturing the victims.

“Don’t let them get away now,” Gelinda commented at the other as lightning began to strike down around them as the clouds grew more and more, “I’m going to plan on capturing some magical being blood for my spell-casting cauldron…”

The laughter surrounding Nebula had begun to pick up as she jumped into the air; having full control and reign of the clouds that were above the three witches. With the wave of her hands, the dark clouds had gone flying at the direction of where the ship had been coming from…

…the sound of thunder beginning to quickly pick up the more it approached the ship.

Thunder clashed from above the ship as it slowly continued going ahead. The thunder is loud enough to startle the fairies on board, but not the men who were completely in focus. Even if the weather was to unexpectedly change, they had to keep going with their mission.

A little weather wouldn’t change their mission.

Not paying attention to the weather however, did have its consequences. The consequence being served had been after the clash of thunder was made, a lightning bolt shooting straight from the dark cloud made its way against the ship. The ship, being electrocuted, resulted in flashing lights to come from the men’s end of the control unit.

“The control unit—“ Mathias broke out while attempting to regain control.

“We’ve been hit with lightning,” Alfred responded and immediately opened up a glass case where a red button had been. They had to continue, but it couldn’t be by air. It had to have been on the ground, which while it was a risk that they would lose power, it would be better to land now than lose power when in the air. He pressed the button quickly; wheels beginning to lower itself down to the ground as the ship came down with it as well. It was a bit of a bumpy landing, but with the control lights flashing over and over, it was a call he had to make. In addition, as captain of the ship, he turned around and spoke, “Everyone okay?”

“We’re good!” Mei called out, holding onto a chair so she wouldn’t fall. It did get bumpy with the landing, but everyone had been fine seeing that they had stayed in their seats, “What happened?”

“There’s major interference with the lightning — I think it may have damaged something, ‘Al.” Gilbert began while typing away at his monitor. The thing was that as he typed to see if he could get control, the keys on his unit were practically flashing back and forth. Every key he pressed down on, there was no input. His brows furrowed in frustration, resulting in him to look over at Antonio and Mathias, “Switch from autopilot, we’re going into manual—“ He then looked at Monika, “Sis, I need your help here. I think the main motherboard is crashing—“

That was an easy job for her.

Monika had rushed over to where Gilbert was and took a seat beside him. Just as he had expressed, the motherboard unit did look like it was crashing from the lightning they experienced. It was a good call for Alfred to land the ship and switch to manual so they could have control, but if they didn’t have control of the motherboard, the ship could die right there.

And they would have no way of getting to Shadow Haunt or back to Magix, unless it was on foot.

“Open up the main control panels,” As Monika said this, she took a step back and held her hands out where two bright orbs of magic had suddenly appeared in her hands. Gilbert noticed this and nodded, getting straight to work while the girl had taken in a breath, knowing that if she wanted to fix it, she would have to use her true form of magic, “… _Charmix!”_

The simple word was enough for a bright light to be cast around her body. All it had taken was a few seconds for her normal attire to change completely from looking like a human to a beautiful fairy where she had been wearing a matching violet sparkling jumpsuit, a pair of boots, as well as gloves while a hairband had pushed her hair back. Behind her, a pair of green wings had formed and taken shape. She opened her eyes now, looking directly over at Gilbert who had indeed opened up the control panel just as she asked.

The two orbs of magic that were originally in her hand being launched right at the motherboard - only for what looked to be two wires to form from the palms of her hands.

And so, she focused her magical energy on it now.

As her magic connected with the control panel, the flashing lights had suddenly come to a halt, returning to its normal, original state while Monika closed her eyes and continued to focus. She was only lending a bit of her power to the ship, that way it had enough energy to not shut down and at least give it the energy it needed to get to the entrance of the ship.

“Consider me your new computer until we get to that entrance,” Monika opened her eyes now where she had noticed Gilbert getting back to controlling the ship. In the midst of her spell, she looked over at Anneliese with a serious expression, “You need to cast the dark resistance spell in the next few minutes. I understand you’re preserving your magic, but I’m saying this because I don’t know it there’ll be another lightning strike—“

“Roger that,” Anneliese nodded since she understood the situation. She would cast it when they were five hundred feet away — that way, she’d be able to preserve not only her magic but the ship would be able to remain safe when they all left it to enter the deeper parts of Shadow Haunt.

The fact that the ship continued to move though, despite the attack that was launched by Nebula, was something that the three witches weren’t in favor of at all. The attack should’ve shut down the ship immediately and trapped the individuals inside… Yet, it was still coming right at their direction.

Gelinda’s brows furrowed in frustration as she jumped into the air; her hands formed into fists while darkness began to surround them, “If this doesn’t wipe them out for sure, I don’t know what else will,” The witch declared, undoing her hands. At that point, she had held her hands where an orb of magic formed in the palms of her hands; now immediately being launched at the ship hundreds of feet away from the group, “ _Crusher!”_

The enchantment being said aloud resulted in the rock and stone surrounding the area to form into one giant bolder -this bolder being launched in the direction of where the ship was coming from. The ship had to stop moving if she wanted for it to hit, which resulted in her becoming a bit creative by lowering herself to the ground and placing a hand on the flat surface of it.

She closed her eyes now, focusing her dark energy into the spell before another flash of magic formed from her hands, “ _…essence of the demons whom linger in Shadow Haunt, rise and keep the ship trapped. Make it impossible to move the ship from where it is!”_

Slowly, the heat began to steam from the ground. The witches kept their distance as the dark enchantment was cast, before they were all greeted to the sight of what looked to be black, sticky and fiery hot, goo beginning to erupt from the ground. One touch of it with a finger and the finger would dissolve. As for a ship, if the ship were to land - it would be very easy for anything to dissolve upon contact, including metal or rubber.

Which was precisely while Gelinda had launched the attack. The aircraft needed a reason to land. Even if they dodged it, that could trick them into thinking that there was an enemy up ahead.

Despite having more planned out by the witches, the next being Aviana with an idea - they were all stopped upon receiving a message through their minds from one individual.

_“Dearest witches, please return to the Palace. There is someone who I’d like for you all to meet.”_

A request from the Dark Lord. Any requests made by their ruler was one that they had to abide to, which resulted in Aviana to growl lowly, “Fuck!” She snapped after the message had came to an end, shooting a glare in the direction of where the aircraft could be heard coming from, “And here I was in the mood to pick off a few beings—“

“Oh shut up, we’ll play and torture some magical beings later,” Gelinda rolled her eyes, before holding out her hand in front of the three of them. With one snap of her finger, a dark portal had opened up in front of them, where she began to make her way towards to be brought back to Shadow Haunt, “Whatever the Dark Lord wants our attention for, it better be good.”

One by one, each witch had walked through the portal, thus leaving their presence at the scene. A flash of light followed as the portal closed, leaving nothing but the dark, radiating energy in the air from where they were once standing.

The aircraft had continued at its normal speed. At first for those who were in charge of monitoring up ahead, everything was in the clear. That was until Gilbert, who had been looking at the navigator in the co-pilot chair, took notice of something. A flashing red light could be seen from the map, which his eyes widened upon seeing what looked to be a giant orb of magic being launched at their direction.

“Go down!” He had shouted and stood up from his seat, which startled everyone. He turned to face the rest of the group before sitting in his seat, “Sit down and hang on!”

Hearing the alert managed to catch Alfred’s attention as well. With being in the pilot’s chair, his eyes widened now seeing what Gilbert had been talking about. If they were to go more into the air, they could get themselves in a difficult position, “We’ve got it,” He began reassuringly before lowering the aircraft down, dodging the orb of magic that had hit a nearby cliff to have it shatter.

The sound of the cliff managed to startle everyone, to the point where Alfred did lower the aircraft down to the ground. If there was something launching magic or attacks at them, it was too dangerous to risk bringing everyone all at once, so he decided it would be best to investigate further was on the navigation.

And the landing was exactly what Gelinda had wanted.

Lowering the aircraft down, Alfred turned over to face the group with a small sigh, “Sorry about that, the nav kind of just blew up on our faces, and we had to land because there may be something attacking us—“

“What the hell was that anyway?” Elizabeta approached the men with her brows furrowed, looking up ahead in front of the aircraft. It seemed that they were in the clear, but it was an unexpected attack nonetheless.

“No idea,” Alfred responded, sighing a bit as he stood up from his seat and stretching, “We’re a bit far away from the entrance, but I’m going to go see outside if there’s something going on. Maybe a potential enemy - better be safe than sorry.”

As he said this, Gilbert had followed just behind the other while Mathias and Antonio stayed in their seats to monitor the aircraft. The ladies had stayed in their seats, remaining patient while Alfred had first opened the entrance of the aircraft to look out, followed by Gilbert to check as well…

…and to their surprise, when they expected to see a dirt ground of a rocky road - there was never a thought in mind of the ground suddenly being covered in what looked like black goop.

“Are you serious man!?” Gilbert looked over at Alfred before hitting the other man’s shoulder, “Did you land the ship in some sort of trap?!”

Alfred rubbed his shoulder after jumping slightly from being startled. No, something wasn’t right. When he had originally landed the ship, it would’ve been able to detect if they were landing in something. But this goop - it didn’t look normal at all, “No man,” He responded before approaching the ramp that would usually let them out. He knelt down to examine the sticky liquid, “This wasn’t here before. The ship would’ve detected it… could it have been from the orb?”

Their conversation was loud enough to reach those who were inside the ship. Since Monika had also been occupied with monitoring the ship, Elizabeta, Florentyna and Mei had made their way over to where the men were while Tatyana stayed with Anneliese to give the girl some company.

Florentyna being the first one to release a shriek at the sight of the goop, “EW!” She stepped away immediately seconds after making eye contact with it, “What IS that!?”

“Looks like a science experiment gone wrong, if you ask me,” Mei answered the question with disbelief in her tone of voice. She knelt down beside Alfred to examine the contents of it… That was until she couldn’t help but notice an odor coming from outside. She paused a moment and turned to face the group, “Do… You guys smell that?”

“Smell what? Because I’m smelling two,” Elizabeta crossed her arms underneath her chest, “The first one is Florentyna’s perfume screaming at my nose, the second one is smoke from a fire.”

The mentioning of smoke from a fire was enough to catch both Alfred and Gilbert’s attention. There was no way that they could be near a fire. The only thing that could cause a fire had to be something from the ship, which there was no possible way it could be it, since the ship was in a landing position.

Upon examining the goop closer, the sounds of very quiet sizzling could be heard from outside.

The landing wheels as part of the ship were the only things making contact with the goop outside. The obvious smells of smoke and a fire — this wasn’t any ordinary goo. It was one that seemed to dissolve any object upon making contact with it.

And they were all right on top of it.

“Start up the ship—“ Gilbert called out to Mathias and Antonio, only for Alfred to stop him by grabbing his shoulder, “Hey man, what are you-“

“—No,” A serious tone of voice erupted from the blonde as he stood up and closed the door immediately. As he said this, he turned to face the main motherboard and rush over to it, where he had been the one to press a few buttons. The entire time he was quick, having another idea in mind, “The wheels of this aircraft are fucked at this point. If we turn on the ship and take off, whatever this goo is, will rip off the bottom half of the ship and we’re toast. It’s simple physics, really.”

“Then what are we supposed to do?” Florentyna had asked at that point with a small frown brought to her lips. It was a serious situation, and with the smell beginning to increase, it showed that the longer they lingered on the problem, the bigger it would become, “We can’t just take off if that’s the case—“

“That’s why I’m going to release the wheels from the ship that are making contact with it,” Alfred explained after sitting down in his seat and putting on a headset briefly; now casting a glance over at Florentyna, “Once they’re released, we’ll take off. But it has to be extremely quick - we can’t allow any risks of getting the actual ship making contact with the goo.”

Making no contact with the goo… It would be a bit difficult, but Alfred wouldn’t tell them that. It would have to be done with no error when it comes to takeoff, or else they could find themselves in a dire situation compared to the one they were currently in now.

His concern however with that idea, did manage to meet Tatyana’s ears though. She smiled and stood up from her seat, excusing herself from her conversation with Anneliese before approaching the men and Monika who was at work of stabilizing the ship, “What can I do to help?”

“For now?” Mathias looked over at her and shrugged, “Sit and be patient,”

Sitting and being patient wasn’t an answer that Tatyana wanted to hear. She continued to smile and leaned forward, interrupting the men with her loudly clearing her voice. This managed to not only catch their attention, but for the fairies on board as well before she explained, “I’m sorry, but I can’t just sit and be patient. Alfred mentioned about there having a slim chance of succeeding in this, yes?” She began, now looking at Alfred who gave a nod of confirmation, “Let me help. I know a spell that should give you guys extra time to get the ship into the air while making sure the ship doesn’t make contact with the goo.”

“How?” Gilbert had been seated in his chair at that point, slowly turning himself around to face the girl, “The ship weighs a thousand tons. It’d be a miracle to help it, the only thing we’ve got to get out of here are the engines—“

“Do you not trust me?” Tatyana rose a brow, which her talking back was managed to be caught on by everyone in the group.

For one thing being noted, was that Tatyana hadn’t been the type of person to talk back. She was more reserved, quieter, but also very patient and welcoming towards others. The fact that she was questioning Gilbert in regards to her skill that she was confident about, was appalling. But, it was good… A sign that since the events that had taken place with the Flower of Life at the Village of Pixies, she had evolved in confidence as a fairy.

“…I say give Tatyana a shot, honestly,” Alfred lowered his headset now before turning his own chair as well to look at the brunette, “What do you got?”

A nod of understanding was given by Tatyana before she had taken in a breath, now looking at Alfred with a serious expression of her owns, “I can use my vines to carry the ship. These vines can carry up to ten million tons, which means it’ll give you an extra boost for take off. Once you guys take off, I’ll come right back into the ship,” She gave a smile again, “…that way, our chances of not getting stuck are lessened.”

It was a proposal that everyone was shocked to hear. But for Alfred, seeing that he was the leader of the team in this sort of mission - his job was to also hear out everyone who could help. And Tatyana was putting herself out there to protect not only herself but putting others needs in front of hers as well. He chuckled after a moment, “…Okay Tatyana, I’m convinced. I won’t question your skill, since I’m just a normal guy and you’re a full-blown fairy.”

As this was said, Alfred had turned back to the motherboard of the ship where he once again began to press on a few keys to get the process of it started. If he was giving Tatyana the green light, Gilbert, Mathias, nor Antonio got the privilege of questioning the decision.

“Just give me the thumbs up through the front of the window when you’re about to cast your vine spell,” Alfred began in clarification to the other, “Gilbert will release the wheels, and I’ll take off. For everyone else…” He turned his head over to the group who hadn’t been in their seats, including Anneliese herself, “Sit down and buckle your seatbelts, because I’m about to hit the gas on this thing.”

Nods of agreement could be seen given by the entire group of fairies as they had gone over to take their seats. For even someone like Anneliese, she found herself sitting there absolutely speechless. Not in terms of the situation at hand… But, witnessing how Professional everyone seemed to have been in terms of the mission when they were all students.

And there she was, only a fairy in training, being panicked and unsure of what to do for any situation. Back in her time, if there was a problem, her parents always knew what to do. There was something so interesting at the fact of seeing well, her father’s younger self _behave_ so quick in terms of an emergency.

It was so different too when it came to terms of seeing them for the first time as well. When first being proposed the offer of traveling back to the past to fix the situation, she knew it would never had happened if her mother was forced to self-isolate. She was there on this mission by herself with the only person knowing being her father of the future - and now, her entire family’s past selves as well.

It was still very weird to her being in the same room as people who were almost the same in age as her. Just a bit different by being older of a few years.

The fact that she got to see her mother as well… In this time, just about four years older than her, it was shocking to say the least. Seeing her for the first time on Lenfia’s campus when spying on her, the thought came back to her mind while sitting there in anticipation of the mission she was on.

 _“There is no way that girl is my mom.”_ Was the first thing that came to Anneliese’s mind the first day she had stepped onto Lenfia’s campus; hiding behind a pillar with the stupid disguise she had put together. She remembered seeing Natalya walking to class with her friends - very much not used to seeing someone so powerful be so… Vulnerable, “ _The invincible guardian fairy of the Dragon Flame and Heart of Ice… And she looks like a normal, human girl… Just like me.”_

The reminding thought that ran through her head had Anneliese sigh for a moment before looking down at her lap. She sat in her seat with her seatbelt buckled; remaining silent while the heroes were at work on the ship. Still, even then, seeing Alfred’s professionalism at the moment made her think of a conversation she had in the past with her father.

It was a normal conversation, to say the least. The reality was that she had always been much closer with her father than her mother, but she loved them both equally. He spoiled her when she was in trouble and did everything he could to make her happy… Even at times when she was much smaller and her mother was busy working, he would take time outside of being a King to pick her up from school, take her out to the park, get some ice cream, just so the Queen could take a pause at being a mother.

Another conversation in the mind of one of their walks together flashed in her mind.

_“Mom has never lost to any bad guy, you know,” Her father’s voice filled in her head as she was reminded of the conversation. The entire time, she was holding onto his hand, while in the other hand she was in the process of eating a chocolate ice cream cone._

_“How come, daddy?” She had asked her father in confusion; tilting her head to the side innocently._

_"Because despite mom denying it, she has a strong heart, wonderful allies…” Alfred’s voice filled her mind while he chuckled. In his hand as well, he had been eating his own ice cream while looking ahead, “And well, she has an unbeatable power that many have tried to look down at her because of being raised on Earth,” He paused for a moment, “You’ve got an unbeatable power too, ‘Lise. Even if you don’t see it yet, your mama and I do.”_

A small frown formed on Anneliese’s lips at the dire thought of the conversation. That was right… Her parents had a lot of expectations for her, which she didn’t know if she could do. If they claimed that she was powerful when she was still learning a lot about magic, how could she be the same as them?

Even in the past, looking at her father and mother at such younger ages — _how_ could they have been that powerful? And there she was, struggling to figure out certain spells she could do as a fairy. Let alone, trying to figure out how she’d become a beautiful, powerful, and lovely guardian fairy like her mother.

 _‘...I miss mama and pops so much…’_ Her eyes cast a glance over at Alfred who had been typing away at the motherboard of the ship once more, ' _When he’s in a mission, I can tell that mama is the most important person to him in this entire universe… and I promise I’ll make sure you have her back, that way I can go back home to you both.’_

In the midst of Anneliese silently thinking to herself, this didn’t neglect the fact of the work that had been taking place during her silence. It was at that point Tatyana found herself forming a large smile on her lips upon hearing the confirmation from Alfred to proceed with her plan.

She nodded, approaching the entrance of the aircraft before pressing a button to open the doors quickly so she could rush out. Before doing anything of course, she had closed her eyes where slowly, a bright light began to form around her as she focused her magical energy within her, “… _Charmix!”_

A flash of light surrounded her body that by the time she had jumped outside, the transformation sequence only lasted less than a second. On her body, she had a beautiful, sparkling pink dress almost similar to a tulip, shoulderless pink sleeves, a pair of matching ankle-length boots, as well as had a choker and a pair of earrings in the shape of roses as accessories on her body. Her hair was braided down to the side where it had been decorated with vines, while on the back of her head, a flower barrette was clipped onto her hair. Behind her back, a pair of green wings grew as well.

There could be no time wasted. Having the chance to jump outside and be in the air to observe what was going on was absolutely shocking to her. Whatever the goo was — it hadn’t been just underneath the ship! It was practically everywhere, similar to a mess that had managed to break free from the environment.

She didn’t want to touch it, but being outside, she could hear sizzling and the smell of smoke coming from underneath the ship. She flew down to observe the wheels, and as Alfred had predicted, the wheels had slowly begin to melt off.

Tatyana took in a breath as she held her hands out towards the ship. Her eyes glew with power as she connected with her true power; orbs of magic forming in the palms of her hand. Her hands began to rise from her waist, which as she did so, a multitude of giant vines grew from the ground as well. It had broken free from the goo; taking no effect to it whatsoever, where the vines had slowly pushed the ship up from the ground.

Even with the ship pushed up, the wheels were what stuck to the ground the most. Tatyana flew to the front of the ship just as she had discussed with Alfred before shouting, “You can go now! I’ll be right behind!”

That was enough of a cue for Alfred to turn the key of the ship on. Everyone had been in their seats buckled, while Gilbert was in charge of the release button of the wheels. He waited for the cue from the Captain of the ship, which was granted once Alfred had his hand on the gas pedal, “Pull it now, Gil.”

“Roger that!” Gilbert’s hand had immediately slammed down against what had been a red button next to the navigation map.

A loud click, followed by the release of pressure could be heard as the wheels were disengaged from the ship. That was Alfred’s cue to hit the engine of the ship, where he had pushed the gas to its max speed while Tatyana’s vines had given the ship a bit of a boost so it wouldn’t make any contact with the ship.

With the frequencies of speed in the situation, as well as the support of the vines, the aircraft had gone shooting right ahead, breaking free from the trap. It was fast - fast to the point where what sounded like screams erupted from both Florentyna and Anneliese, who both didn’t take well to fast rides at all.

Once they escaped, Alfred had lowered the gas leverage and kept the speed of the ship at a relatively consistent pace, that way they were flying and weren’t going crazy fast as before, “You guys okay?” He asked, turning his head around to be greeted to the sight of Mei laughing it what sounded like distraught pain, all while Florentyna and Anneliese were sitting in their seats with their expressions pale.

“Y-Yup!” Florentyna couldn’t help but speak in a panicked tone of voice, “N-Not like I want to throw up or anything after that-!”

Despite being dizzy, the thing was that for Anneliese, she began giggling even if her stomach felt like it had been flipped a hundred times from how fast they had suddenly gone, “…I wanna go againnn…” She began in laughter, which was only met with Mei’s uncomfortable laughter from the speed, “That was funnnnnn!”

Seeing the sight of this had Alfred chuckle to himself before setting the ship onto autopilot. Something about seeing them all okay after that situation, especially Anneliese, was reliving to him. The fact that Anneliese seemed to be the type of person who enjoyed faster, crazy rides… He was amused, to say the least.

…She was just like Natalya in terms of enjoying exciting things.

The painful reminder of what was going on in Natalya in that current time had slipped his mind before, but seeing Anneliese and remembering the circumstances of why they were all there, it had suddenly drained his mood. It felt like a piece of him was missing without Natalya. But for now, the man composed himself as he noticed Tatyana fly back into the aircraft and immediately shut the entrance.

“Tatyana!” Elizabeta was the first to blurt out from her seat. She assumed it was safe now that they had escaped and were at a steady pace to stand, resulting in her getting out of her chair and approach the fairy to give her a tight hug, “That was amazing! Are you okay?”

A quick nod came from Tatyana as a bright light flashed around her body. Again, with it taking a few seconds to transform her back into her human attire, “That was interesting, to say the least! I’m okay, thank you for your concern, Elizabeta,” She smiled with a small sigh of relief, now looking over at the heroes who were patiently awaiting her response, “I’m sorry about the wheels, they were completely destroyed at that point, and the ship was close to touching the goo. I’m just glad that it was done this way because I don’t know if the original way would’ve been easy to get out of with how sunk we were,”

“It’s alright,” Alfred reassured the girl before turning back to the motherboard, “Well, thanks to your help, we should be arriving at the entrance in the next ten minutes… So, make sure to enjoy this while it lasts,” He chuckled looked down.

_“…because I have a feeling this Dark Lord has more shit prepared for us.”_

* * *

Multiple heels could be heard walking down the hallways of the Dark Lord’s palace of Shadow Haunt. The three witches, who had just made their arrival upon request, began to make their way to the throne room as always where Demande would always greet the three. Usually, with attention or admiration, but for today, they had no idea why they were being called unexpectedly.

Was it perhaps he had noticed the work they had done outside of the realm with intruders that were on their way? They didn’t know, but it wouldn’t stop them from making their arrival to the throne room.

Gelinda had pushed the doors open to the room where her expression was a tad annoyed since she was having a bit of fun teasing whoever was coming, but she had to have some self-restraint for their ruler. The witch made her presence known to the demon, who had been sitting in his throne at the back of the room, by taking a knee for him. Beside her, both Aviana and Nebula had fallen to their knees to grant their respect to the powerful individual.

“Your wickedness, dear Lord Demande,” Gelinda broke the silence of the room by casting a look up to the man, who had been eyeing the three witches with a malicious smirk drawn to his lips. They still had no idea why they were there, which once the Dark Lord had risen his hand to grant them permission to rise, Gelinda had been the first witch to ask, “What is it that you desire of us, my Lord?”

The Dark Lord sat back on his throne while observing the three witches. He had sent them off for the day to do whatever they desired, whether it be hunting magical beings to messing around with magic - he didn’t care. They did all they needed to do in terms of helping him accomplish his mission.

There was a bigger occasion at hand that he wanted them all three to be present to see.

“We have a new guest that’s arrived to the Realm,” Demande spoke after a moment, which caught all three witches off guard.

Confusion formed on the three witches expressions. A guest? What other guest could there be, minus the puppet version of Ayron who would occasionally return from Lenfia with updates in terms of monitoring the Princess for details on the Codex?

They had all four pieces of the key to the Realm of Relix. If there was a guest, then it had to be Ayron returning to Shadow Haunt to continue serving his duties and loyal ship to Demande.

However, this wasn’t the case at all.

The sounds of the doors from which they all had entered could be heard opening. The three witches, who were once kneeling, found themselves tensing up at the sounds of multiple footsteps behind them. The Dark Lord was amused watching the individual step further and further, which at this point, was when one by one, each witch had turned their heads around to see who the mystery guest was.

And the guest indeed, was one that they hadn’t been expecting to see.

At first glance, they had immediately recognized Ayron, who had seemed to been walking beside someone much shorter in height. The individual, whose head was down and almost seemed… Lifeless, had the three witches’ jaws dropped.

The guest wore a beautiful gown. One in white, where its skirt was being dragged on the floor. Beautiful lace had been decorated along the white skirt, while on the top part of it, the bodice had pushed her chest up and glistened with the small amount of light present in the room from the jewels she wore. Her hair was long, curled at the ends, while her bangs rested on her forehead and a pair of diamond barrettes pulled the sides of her hair back.

On the top of her head, she wore a tiara, signifying her role and duty of who she exactly was in the magic dimension.

“Is that—“ Nebula blurted out.

“When did—!?” Aviana turned herself fully around in shock.

“…what the fuck…” Gelinda’s brows furrowed as she found her hands turn into fists. The person… It was one that she had immediately recognized. An enemy that she had despised more than anything. She turned her head back to the Dark Lord, who had a larger smirk than before, “Demande, why is _she_ here!? She’s a threat to the whole plan—!”

A threat… The word had resulted in laughter to erupt from the Dark Lord before he stood from his throne. It was at that point, he had stepped down and walked past the witches to approach the guest who had stood there, absolutely still. Lifeless, one could describe it.

Ayron had taken a step back as the Dark Lord approached the woman; giving a bow to the figure. The Dark Lord had approached the woman, before looking back at the witches, “…I don’t think you ladies realize, who this individual _really_ is now.”

 _Really is now?_ What did the demon mean by this?

The Dark Lord approached the silent woman, where his hands had crept up to her shoulders. She was still, her breathing was steady, almost as if she hadn’t been part of the conversation at all. He had risen her head now for the witches to see, which showed the true picture of what he had talked about.

“The future Queen of the Magic Dimension… In her younger self and form…” The Dark Lord chuckled to himself while her head was continued to be risen by him, “Natasha Braginskaya… Isn’t any enemy to us anymore, dear witches.”

With this being said, he had snapped his fingers, where immediately, the enchantment that he had cast earlier on the girl was finally coming to fruition.

Natalya’s eyes had opened to the witches. Her expression was almost similar to any puppet, but what had stood out the most, was the fact that her eyes weren’t the familiar violet-blue orbs that everyone had known were inherited from her father, King Viktor, himself.

Instead, her eyes were a bright red color. Her entire body radiated with dark, magical energy, to which the witches found themselves in disbelief to finally figure out what the Dark Lord had done.

He… He had turned Natalya into his personal little puppet. Similarly to the Shadow Virus — it wasn’t her that was standing there. If it had been, she would’ve attacked long ago with the Dragon Flame and Heart of Ice at them.

The witches had once warned the Dark Lord that it would be impossible to steal the Dragon Flame and Heart of Ice. They were all experienced with attempting to steal it, only to meet in failure to learn that it was impossible. So while they didn’t think the Dark Lord had any plan nor objective to obtain the two most ultimate powers of the universe…

…It seemed he had another idea in mind.

“It’s impossible to obtain the Dragon Flame and Heart of Ice from its guardian…” Laughter came from the man as he took a step beside Natalya, who was completely silent in the situation while still staring right at the witches with no emotion, “…so if that’s the case, it isn’t possible to have control of its guardian, no? To the gates of Relix, Natasha appears as a light. But thanks to my spell, her heart is now in darkness.”

A hand reached over to cup the girl’s cheek, which she again, remained unphased. The witches were silent upon watching the scene. Natalya has his personal puppet to accomplishing his mission… It was a genius idea. Casting a spell on her so he could use the Dragon Flame and Heart of Ice, also while having full control and reign of her.

She was the key to the Realm of Relix.

And the key to finishing the mission that he wanted to desperately complete.

“Under my command, Natasha will destroy anyone who tries to stop me from accomplishing this plan.” The Dark Lord finished his explanation to the witches, who listened closely to what the man had been saying. It was absolutely a shocking surprise that this was the guest he was referring to. Now, under his own command, for she would do anything they wanted her to do, “She will not hesitate to murder and steal the lives of others so long as her heart is trapped in my spell…

_…Natasha is mine, and no one will be able to take control of her from me.”_

* * *

The final words rung through the Princess’ ears as she stood there. While she couldn’t process it, her heart that lingered in eternal darkness, struggled to find light. It was drowned out. All light, as the man had told her earlier, would eventually die out from the amount of dark energy radiating in the Realm.

Not even she, for having powers of light, would be able to resist it.

In her mind, Natalya was screaming. Crying for help, begging for someone to break the spell from her… But she couldn’t. Physically in person, all she could do was stand there and take the commands of the Dark Lord, who had guided her over to a chair beside his throne to sit. In front of these two thrones, had been the four pieces of the Codex laid out. Each one she immediately recognized.

If she had to play as his puppet, so be it. He wouldn’t win, she would fight on the inside as best as she could. Even if she felt lost and had no control over her heart and mind, her spirit was alive.

All she could hope was hiding the broken piece of The Legendary would be enough to make sure he didn’t ever have control of her powers.

* * *

" _I have to be completely honest with you, as much as they’ve been pains to me, I’m very worried about our students. Do you think they’re really ready to take on a mission such as this one? As level two fairies?”_

The voice filled Radella’s ears as she stared off into the balcony of her office. It had been a few hours since the group had made their departure to Shadow Haunt, and all they could do now as educators was wait to see what would happen. She knew that her students and the students from UHB were all trained in terms of fighting…

…But in terms of taking on extremely dangerous missions such as the one they were on? She didn’t feel comfortable at all.

And she was deeply worried. Especially for Natalya, who as a fairy godmother, it was her sole duty to protect a god-child when a parent wasn’t present. The fact that she hadn’t been paying attention at all to the suspicions surrounding Ayron when he had been interested to get close to Natalya for obviously dark reasons, Radella’s heart broke.

She just hoped that Viktor and Alyona weren’t looking down at her, ashamed that she wasn’t any to take care of their youngest child as she had sworn to years ago before the tragedy that had taken place on Sparx.

This was why in order to restore all faith in her heart, she couldn’t just sit back and let her own students take care of this issue. She didn’t protect Natalya as she promised to, and now, she believed she had to serve the consequences of it by taking responsibility.

Radella turned around and faced Glynda, who had stood there with her arms crossed, awaiting a response from the Headmistress upon expressing her concerns about the students. Even for someone as strict as Glynda who did not hesitate to take on disciplinary measures to students, she did care for them. Her genuine concern was proven there when she had been honest with the Headmistress on how she was feeling.

“Would you…” Radella took in a breath as she approached the woman, a serious expression brought to her face, “…Feel comfortable conducting the assembly with the first-year students this evening, as well as attending a meeting on my behalf with the board of magic education?”

The question caught Glynda off guard when this was said. She blinked in confusion before clearing her throat, immediately questioning the other, “What do you mean, Radella?” She had asked for clarification, “I thought you were attending those meetings?”

A small head shake came from Radella when this was said, which was shocking to Glynda. The Headmistress never missed meetings unless she was sick — there was something more going on that Radella hadn’t mentioned, “I’m going to need your help, Glynda. And that’s you stepping in for me just for these next two days,” Her hands were in fists before taking in a sigh, “…Sitting here and waiting for a response, I’ve been having the same exact thoughts as you. I’m worried, but what I feel mostly terrible about, is that I broke a promise that I… Made with Natalya’s parents years ago. I failed to protect her, and as a fairy godmother, I feel as though a part of me has… died, learning what had happened to her. _I’m_ the only family she has left here in this dimension.”

Glynda was shocked to hear such a thing. It wasn’t a very public fact Radella had served to the Braginsky royal family as a godmother to the youngest Princess. But, it was known she was a former member of the Company of Light - a group of heroes and guardian fairies that had been hand-chosen by King Viktor to serve and protect the magic dimension.

“Radella… I don’t mind going to these meetings and doing the assembly, but-” The other woman began after this point with concern in her tone of voice, “…What do you intend on doing?”

It was an easy question. Radella had approached her desk where she had opened up a drawer, followed by taking out some files and documents in details of her meetings. She had placed it on top of the desk for Glynda to look over before she cleared her throat and took a few steps forward away from her desk to the door of her office.

_“I’m going to Shadow Haunt with the old Company of Light to help my girls save my goddaughter.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're almost there! Two more chapters until the finale of this part of the series. 
> 
> I'm so glad I was able to finish this chapter. I think this out, out of every other chapter in Part 2, has to be my favorite. A LOT happens in terms of who 'Anna' really is, as well as what happened to Natalya when she was kidnapped.
> 
> Also, if I have to be honest, I'm so happy you all know who 'Anna' really is. ;u; Anneliese is an OC I had created years ago for Natalya and Alfred's child, and I wanted to incorporate her into the story somehow. Keep in mind, this part is the ONLY time she will be making a presence... Unless in the future, well, maybe she'll come back for another part. But for now, make sure to enjoy her while you can! She's honestly a meme-lord in disguise, but also very adorable. 
> 
> In terms of when the next chapter will be released, it will be done 11/28/2020! As you guys saw with my mini-delay of this chapter, it took me a bit longer to get it done because I was super busy these last two weeks, that I was only writing maybe a page or two every other day. Since Thanksgiving is among us, it should hopefully not take me long. I could get the second to final chapter up this upcoming weekend, but we'll play it by ear!
> 
> For now, I'll see you guys on 11/28/2020! Stay safe! <3


	13. Face to Face with the Enemy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Glynda was shocked to hear such a thing. It wasn’t a very public fact Radella had served to the Braginsky royal family as a godmother to the youngest Princess. But, it was known she was a former member of the Company of Light - a group of heroes and guardian fairies that had been hand-chosen by King Viktor to serve and protect the magic dimension.
> 
> “Radella… I don’t mind going to these meetings and doing the assembly, but-” The other woman began after this point with concern in her tone of voice, “…What do you intend on doing?”
> 
> It was an easy question. Radella had approached her desk where she had opened up a drawer, followed by taking out some files and documents in details of her meetings. She had placed it on top of the desk for Glynda to look over before she cleared her throat and took a few steps forward away from her desk to the door of her office.
> 
> “I’m going to Shadow Haunt with the old Company of Light to help my girls save my goddaughter.”

Everything had felt lost. Gone. All light - perished from her heart. And it was something she couldn’t control.

The shadow virus was painful. Even if there was no physical pain, her mind cried for help. Over and over she begged for someone to break the spell - but nothing came in return. Her true power, hidden in fear from being under the control of the Dark Lord.

There was nothing she could do. As his puppet, everything in her mind and heart was blank.

No emotions at all, by the time her eyes had opened from the place in which she stood.

The Princess had been seated on a throne beside the Dark Lord’s. Her head hung low, all while her hands were in fists. Despite her current state of mind, this did not neglect the work that had to be done.

Now that the Dark Lord had the final piece to his plan, the process of opening the Realm of Relix had no reason to wait any longer.

The Lord rose from his throne, leaving the Princess by herself as he approached a table where the four pieces of the Codex lay out before him. One by one, it was all part of one large key that he couldn’t open at all…

…which was why the Princess came in his favor, as she was the only blood-relative of the Braginsky family that could put together the true key.

Gelinda stood in front of the Dark Lord as the keys were examined. The entire time though, rather than being focused on the Codexes, she found herself instead focused on the blonde who seemed to have been entirely unresponsive by being under the hands of the Dark Lord.

Did she pity or feel bad for the girl? No, not at all. Quite the opposite, with being shocked someone like the Dark Lord managed to take over someone as powerful as her. She looked to be an ordinary young woman, but the reality was that in comparison to all of them, she was the most powerful figure in the entire magic dimension.

Not just she, but her entire family.

And she was the only survivor of the most powerful beings.

Which to her dismay, Gelinda was frustrated. To open the Realm of Relix, the Dark Lord had a plan of obtaining the future Queen of the magic dimension in her younger state so he would have control of her. The question was - how could she become Queen in the future? The Dark Lord could’ve been lying to her and her witch-sisters about someone like Natalya having a major role.

The projection in a nearby room of an image of the future Queen said otherwise. Regardless of this, Gelinda didn’t believe it.

She was a puppet. A lifeless puppet sitting on a throne that she didn’t deserve to be in, all while being under the Dark Lord’s control.

“The time has come to activate the Codex, my dear daughter,” The Dark Lord began after a moment to the witch in front of him, thus resulting in Gelinda to glance over at the man with her brows furrowed, “To open the passage of the Realm of Relix, we now have the source of connecting the main key to open… the door.”

All it took was one snap of his fingers for the Princess, who remained absolutely silent, to rise from her throne and approach beside the Dark Lord. The sight of it was horrifying to Gelinda, but she reserved herself while observing Natalya, while her head continued to hang low.

The Dark Lord grinned at how smoothly the Princess had listened to his command. In reward for her efforts, he had placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a smirk, before motioning to the pieces of the Codex, “Go on, Natasha.” He began, referring the Princess by her true name, “You know what to do.”

What to do… The command was one that deep in her heart, she didn’t want to listen to. But her hand hovering over the four codex’s said otherwise.

Slowly looking up, her red orbs looked down at the codex as a bright light formed in the palm of her hand. The light resulted in Gelinda to shield her eyes for a moment, all while the Dark Lord observed on what exactly the Princess had been doing.

And that was when the two creatures of dark noticed it.

The bright light slowly coming to an end resulted in what looked to be a broken… Crystal? In the palm of her hand. It was hard to tell what it was, but based on the fact that the girl had been holding onto it and it radiated a powerful amount of energy, clearly, it had been part of the key to unlocking the door.

The Dark Lord, finding himself intrigued by the sight of this.

“…There’s no possible way…” He couldn’t help but mutter underneath his breath. The Dark Lord believed he knew what the crystal was, but he kept himself back to observe the girl closely, “…The Legendary… It exists?”

The witch in front of the two magical beings shot a look up at the Dark Lord. He knew exactly what the broken crystal that Natalya had in her hand was? “The Legendary?” Gelinda questioned the male with a serious expression to her face all while the Princess continued to hold it over the pieces of the Codex, “The hell is it?”

“…A legend that many magical beings speculated to never be real…” The Dark Lord was very invested in what the Princess was doing. He leaned forward, watching the girl closely as the crystal continued to radiate with power, “A physical piece of the heart of ice, that only the gods of this world had created as a key to protecting the chosen guardian fairy of the ultimate powers… But it was only a legend — were they right, after all?”

It was a question that Demands couldn’t figure out. Alas, this didn’t stop the Princess to focus her true power on the crystal.

The Princess’ eyes were closed as light began to form around the four pieces of the codex. Slowly, they had risen one by one up into the air in front of the witch and demon, before suddenly coming together in the shape of a pointed key made out of silver. The key, when making contact with the crystal, had filled with light as energy brought the key to its truest form.

A key that had matched the keyhole of the door the Dark Lord had summoned prior to the Princess’ arrival.

Slowly, the key had moved towards the Princess, where she had grasped onto it all while the broken piece of the crystal remained floating in front of her. She stared at the key for a moment; examining it while her head tilted innocently to the side. The first part was done, and now, she had to continue her task of giving it to her master.

Natalya turned around and looked up at the Dark Lord; her expression remained lifeless as she held the key to him. She was silent, all while the Dark Lord turned his head away from the crystal to take the key from her grasp.

While he had the key in hand, he was more intrigued by the foreign object of the crystal.

The power that radiated from the crystal in front of the Princess drew a lot of powerful energy. If this was truly a piece of the heart of ice in physical form, Gelinda found herself slowly reaching for it to see if the girl would stop her from grasping it.

The thing was, the Princess didn’t even move an inch and instead stood there with her head faced down once more.

Just as she was about to reach for the crystal, the Dark Lord shot a glare at the witch, “Don’t touch it.”

“—Why not?” Gelinda interrupted the Lord with her brows furrowed. Instead of listening to his demand, she grasped onto the crystal with a firm grip to see what would happen. This being a lesson well-learned and a reason as to why Demande had warned her.

The second her hand had made contact with the crystal, almost immediately, a painful burn filled the palm of her hand that had Gelinda pull back and let out a pained curse, “Mother _FUCKER_!” She screamed; stomping her foot in the process all while holding onto her hand tightly. She looked at Natalya; anger filled her eyes before pointing at the Princess, “She did this-!”

“…No, she didn’t. I warned you, you deaf witch.” The Dark Lord glared at Gelinda as she seemed to have been in the process of casting a healing spell on her hand to reduce the pain that filled the palm of her hand. The burn was bad - almost similar to any third-degree burn. And the witch had to be taught a lesson. He glanced over at Natalya, who remained silent, while he lowered his hand with the key, “You inflicting damage is more proof that this is the true Legendary… The Legendary cannot be touched by any other magical being other than the direct descendants of the dragon flame and heart of ice guardians.”It couldn’t be touched by any other magical beings?

Gelinda shot a glare at Natalya, who simply stared at her with no emotion again. If she could, the witch would’ve attacked her then and there for burning her hand… But the Dark Lord did have a point - she hadn’t listened and was facing the consequences of it.

“Natasha is the only user in this dimension who has the ability to use the physical form of the heart of ice. Dare touch it again, and you may lose a hand by the end of this evening.” The Dark Lord warned the witch, who remained silent. It was at this point now that he had taken a step away from the table with the key and snapped his fingers again. This time, shadows forming in front of him that grew in size, before the shape of a door began to form. This door hadn’t been an ordinary one — it had been the one he had summoned earlier, but couldn’t unlock without the Princess until now.

The door was beautiful. One that radiated powerfully, positive energy with how close the key was to its keyhole. Which at that point, the Dark Lord grinned to himself, just before slipping the key into its keyhole, “…The gates of the Realm of Relix, finally unlocked after long last…”

Just as he had been about to turn its key, the sounds of doors had opened just behind the three figures in the room.

Footsteps could be heard as the two figures walking inside the room, as the Dark Lord shot a glare in the direction of Aviana and Nebula, who looked annoyed based on the situation that they had encountered outside of the realm. Gelinda found herself opening her mouth to speak in the question of what the other two witches looked angered about, but Aviana had beaten her to the punch.

“Our apologies for interrupting your… Moment, Demande.” Aviana spoke clearly, getting directly to the point as the doors already had closed behind her and Nebula, “But we have a bit of a situation taking place outside towards the south entrance.”

“We’ve detected an unauthorized aircraft attempting to make its way into the realm,” Nebula began while her arms were crossed, “One that we attempted to stop, but somehow they managed to escape our trap when you were introducing us to your…” She shot a glare over at the Princess, “…surprise.”

An unauthorized aircraft entering Shadow Haunt. It was something that he knew he should’ve expected. It had been only a few hours since he had taken the Princess, and already an emergency crew was sent out to rescue her. Typical, which he couldn’t help but roll his eyes at before turning back to the door with the key, “Do what you have to do then, and take care of them—“

Though as he was about to turn the key, he paused a moment as an idea came to fruition.

A large smirk formed along the demon’s lips before looking away from the door. Aviana and Nebula rose their brows in curiosity, all while Gelinda looked over at the Dark Lord with confusion on her expression. What else were they waiting for? All they needed was to open the door to the time and space portal, and they wouldn’t have to worry about anything else.

The longer they stood there, the more they wasted time.

The thing was, the Dark Lord found himself ignoring the door now in favor of the Princess, who stood there silently with her head continuing to remain low. Both of his hands reached over; placing his hands directly onto Natalya’s shoulders. She was startled at first, but she remained still while the demon extended a hand to cup the girl’s cheek to get her to look at him.

Upon making eye contact, there was no life to her expression. Red orbs, piercing directly into the Dark Lord’s as the two made eye contact with one another. The demon grinned seeing this from the younger girl, that soon enough, he was able to make a decision.

“…Bring the Princess with you while dealing with… Our intruders,” The Dark Lord began while turning to the other witches, who now found themselves shocked hearing such a proposal, “I’m sure she’d be happy to greet her rescuers…

_…by introducing them to her new powers of the dark.”_

* * *

The aircraft was absolutely silent in observation upon arriving at one of the entrances of Shadow Haunt. Prior to the heroes and fairies leaving Lenfia, there had been an issue of potentially losing power on the ship due to making contact with any part of the dark realm. While at first, they believed they had no way of completing the mission without it being a drop-off situation, that was when one individual came up with an idea.

The one individual, being in focus as she stood in front of the motherboard of the ship and awaited her cue to cast the spell.

The thing was that out of all the fairies on that ship, Anneliese had been the only one who knew how to cast guardian-fairy level spells. It was all shocking to them, especially since she looked very young in age compared to all of them. However, if she was truly the daughter of the future King and Queen of the magic dimension, then nothing was impossible at that point.

Keeping his eyes on the entrance, Alfred had pressed a few buttons to lessen the energy of the ship now so the girl would be able to focus on casting the expansion spell around the walls. First, to expand the walls of the cave so they could enter, followed by a protective barrier so they would be able to land the ship in Shadow Haunt and escape immediately after.

“Alright, Anneliese,” The blonde looked over at the girl who seemed to have been focused up ahead, giving her a smile as the cue that she needed, “You’ve got my clear to do what you need to do.”

Hearing the cue startled Anneliese at first, this being a sign that she hadn’t been aware of her surrounding at the moment. Even if she was on a mission, her mind was in a completely different place. She was worried about what could be going on in Shadow Haunt… After all, she’s never seen it, but she has heard plenty of stories about it when she was being bad growing up.

Shadow Haunt, after all, was the classic story that parents would scare their children with if they were being bad. The number one most horrifying place, being the Realm of Darkness.

Her mother used that story on her all the time, so the fact that it was real, she felt sick to her stomach.

The girl maintained her composure at the moment. She had to stay focused, do not allow for her fears to catch up to her powers. The thing was that as she held a hand over the motherboard in focus, she hesitated at first. She was afraid of messing up - nervous that if she couldn’t cast the spell, that would add onto the list of problems they were already ongoing.

The thing was that when the energy of a fairy was at a low as it was for her, it wasn’t hard for the nature of other fairies to pick it up.

_“You got this, Anneliese,”_

The new voice had the younger girl freeze on the spot. Turning around, she was greeted to the sight of all of the familiar faces she knew. While it was all of their younger selves - seeing Florentyna, Mei, Tatyana, Monika, and Elizabeta watching her with proud smiles brought a sense of reassurance.

Even if they didn’t know it now, they were her family. Every person on that ship were the ones who had raised her to become the person she was now, which was why she didn’t want to mess up now, especially when they were much younger in comparison to how she knew them twenty years into the future.

“You know what you’re doing,” Monika continued from where she had left off when telling the girl she knew she was doing. It was strict, but almost a reminder for her to not be afraid, “We’re here to help you if you’re too nervous, but we know you’ve got enough strength to do it.”

“Monika’s right!” Florentyna wrapped an arm around the taller blonde and motioned to Anneliese, giving the girl a bit of a small smirk, “You know, when I’m nervous about casting big scary spells, there was one thing Natalya would slap against my head for me to do it, and I never failed.”

“Oh really?” Mei looked over at the other woman with her brows risen with a bit of amusement, “And what did she tell you?”

A small hint of laughter came from Florentyna when she was asked the question. She smiled at Mei, before turning back to Anneliese, who was observing the sight, “ _Grow a pair of balls and do the spell without thinking about what’s around you._ Easy.”

More laughter erupted from the group of fairies when this was said aloud. Even for Anneliese, she couldn’t help but bring her hand up to her mouth from gasping, since that was _never_ the kind of advice she got from… Well, her own parents.

But hearing that, to say the least, did bring a bit of reassurance.

What brought the main reassurance, however, had been feeling a hand on her shoulder. She turned around, where Alfred who had been sitting in the pilot’s chair, had lowered his headset and gave the girl’s shoulder a bit of a comforting squeeze, “Minus the weird advice from Florentyna, Monika is right. You’ve got it, I can easily tell.”

“…Thanks.” A small sigh came from Anneliese now as the hand was lowered from Alfred. She had never cast a proper guardian fairy spell before, but that was something she wouldn’t tell them now.

The only reason why she knew it was because of her mother being pretty much the guardian fairy that had taught her everything she knew about higher ends of magic… And she was still at level one of her training, and with all this knowledge - she was very fortunate to know it since even when her mother was at level one, she didn’t know any of these guardian fairy spells.

Both of Anneliese’s hands came into focus as she held one hand over the motherboard, followed by another one ahead of the cave that was in front of them. The entrance itself was small and definitely wouldn’t fit the ship, but as she closed her eyes and focused on her true power, the magic began to form from the palms of her hands as she cleared her throat to begin the enchantment.

_“Expanus thy cave with the guidance of the light, forming protectus around. Barrier of light - come to my aide and expand as shall we pass!”_

A bright light had formed around the cave in front of them as almost immediately, the gates had begun to expand. It had been much bigger compared to the smaller size that it had been before. Soon enough, also resulting in what looked to be a barrier of light surrounding the exterior of the ship to protect it from its entrance into the realm.

One thing for those who had been controlling the aircraft to notice was that the barrier spell had boosted the energy levels of the aircraft, so they would be able to get there quickly.

“Holy shit,” Gilbert couldn’t help but to sit back in his co-pilot chair, observing the sight as the spell began to calm down from Anneliese’s perspective, “The girl actually did it…”

“Well, we’ve got enough power to get into Shadow Haunt and back home too,” Alfred was equally amazed as well, to which he had looked over at Anneliese with a proud smile, “Good job, kid.”

As Anneliese lowered her hands, she blinked for a moment upon noticing that the enchantment did work. Just as she was taught… If she focused her magical energy on a spell, it would work with no problem. Even for a level one fairy, nothing was impossible. And the fact that Florentyna had been the first one to approach the girl and pull her into a tight hug; jumping up and down in excitement, was enough evidence that everyone was proud of her.

“See, I told you!!!” Florentyna couldn’t help but gush as nervous laughter came from Anneliese. Her face was burning red in embarrassment while she looked away, but this didn’t stop Florentyna from hugging and expressing just how proud she was, “You have to teach me that one! Seriously, who’re your teachers back home!? None of our Professors let us use those kinds of spells at all in school!”

“Florentyna’s got a point,” Elizabeta couldn’t help but comment before approaching Anneliese to ruffle the girl’s head, clearly proud as well that she was successfully able to do it, “That’s really amazing you did it so smoothly.”

Her teachers back home… It was a question that she didn’t know if she was allowed to answer.As she was let go of the hug, Anneliese smiled herself before looking up at the rest of the fairies and giving a bit of a small shrug, “Oh, it’s nothing…” She started off innocently, “In the best interest of everyone here, I think I’ll keep it a secret who my teachers are.”

Would they be surprised if they knew the truth? The truth of how in the future, they were _all_ her teachers?

It was a story she believed they all should at least get to experience. After all, it wasn’t just her parents who taught her about magic and fighting, but her family as well. Even if this version of her family didn’t know her as they did in the future, she couldn’t wait for the day that in their present time, they’d finally learn all the amazing spells she knew all thanks to them.

Through the power of the expansion and barrier spell, the aircraft continued onwards into the realm. The light that came from outside slowly began to decrease the more the aircraft went through the cave, which was at that point, a sign that everyone should be seated in their chairs with their seatbelts on.

No one knew what would be up ahead.

The sounds of loud screeching could be picked up from outside the aircraft the more they traveled in. Just as the nightmare story stated, Shadow Haunt was a place of darkness that lingered with disgusting, horrific creatures of the dark.

As the aircraft made its way through Shadow Haunt, these creatures of the dark that had been flying in the air immediately detected a source of positive magic from inside the craft. There could exist no signs of positive magic there - and so, it hadn’t been that long since their arrival that the ship was beginning to be followed.

The more the aircraft went ahead, the bigger the crowd of dark creatures began to build up behind them. Loud screeches ensued as the creatures attempted to catch up with them, but couldn’t due to the speed of the ship.

The faster the ship went, the more it broke away from the creatures…

…But the closer it also had gotten to the Dark Lord’s palace, which had been obvious to the eye.

The palace had been surrounded by waterfalls. More creatures of darkness had surrounded its entrance as guarding points for no intruders. That had been a bigger sign for the heroes controlling the ship, since they could mainly see the enemies, it was a sign that the Dark Lord had been expecting potential outsiders of Shadow Haunt the second the Princess had been kidnapped.

Regardless of this, it hadn’t changed the loud screeching that ensued from the creatures, that were now growing in size of their group, behind them.

“Sounds like a ton of geese flocking at us,” Gilbert couldn’t help but roll his eyes as he reached over for his co-pilot headset, followed by flipping on a few switches to turn on one of the features of the ship.

And this feature had been a blaster.

“You handling them, then?” Alfred took a glance at the albino, who seemed to already have been at the process of taking out the flock of dark creatures screeching behind them, “Because I can’t stop piloting, but I can steer the blaster’s aim accurately.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” The second this was said, Gilbert had pressed a red button right next to a lever he had control of. All it took was a matter of seconds before the headset had formed a screen in front of him; giving a visual aid to where the creatures were behind them.

And then, came the main button pressing to get the blaster launchers to expand from the sides of the aircraft.

The attacks were made. Loud blasts could be heard from outside the aircraft as Gilbert made the attacks; one by one taking down the group of dark creatures that had been following just behind them. The aircraft shook in turbulence in response to the blasting, but everyone remained seated with their seatbelts while Alfred attempted to get the aircraft back into smooth traveling speed.

The thing was that as he took out flocks of dark creatures, the more dark creatures would be coming from right behind them.

“What a pain in the ass,” Gilbert couldn’t help but to sigh seeing the more of them, before pausing a moment and looking at Alfred, “Don’t land yet. If we land, these creatures will swarm us immediately. The blasters won’t be enough to take them all out.”

This was a point that Alfred, as a captain of the group of heroes, found himself pausing in thought as he continued to control the aircraft and dodge the flying dark creatures. In this sort of instance, the blaster should’ve been enough. But seeing that the number of dark creatures was an endless amount, this was where the problem was just beginning.

“We need a smaller ship to handle the smaller flocks,” Alfred had paused for a moment and pressed a button; putting the ship directly to autopilot as he stood up from his seat, looking at the men, “Gil, you take pilot. Antonio, take co-pilot. I’ll take the red flare ship from the back of the aircraft and take care of the smaller flocks, you take care of the bigger flocks with the blaster. That way we can prepare a safe landing for the fairies to get into the castle.”

“You’ve got it, Al.” A thumbs-up came from Antonio as this was said. Immediately, both he and Gilbert had switched positions in terms of controlling the ship, while Alfred had made his way to the back.

Before anything, he looked over at the group of ladies that were seated, giving further instruction, “Stay in your seats, seatbelts on, because it’s going to get a bit rocky with these enemies.”

If they wanted to preserve as much magic as they could, the best thing to do for the situation was for them to sit back for now and allow for him and his team to take care of it. They were the main support group, after all.

And so, Alfred walked towards the back of the ship and pressed a button, only to open a door to another chamber as part of the aircraft. Stepping inside, it was dark, but immediately lights came on the second there was movement detected in the air. Alfred’s expression was serious, before long, he had reached for a pair of keys set up beside the door to walk over towards a smaller ship that had been sitting there in case of an emergency.

All it took was one press of that key for the door hatch to unlock, therefore allowing for him to climb in and properly use the key to turn the ship on and connect with the men up in the main craft.

Sitting in his seat now, Alfred had pulled the belts on around his body, followed by a headset to stay connected to the main ship and the rest of his team. He had turned the ship on, before directing it to the back of the aircraft where Gilbert, who was in the pilot’s chair, had opened up the back entrance of the aircraft for him to leave.

The ship immediately rolled off the aircraft before flying in the air; Alfred being in main control now while he flew in the direction of the smaller flock of dark creatures. He pressed a button on his headset, speaking into the microphone right away so that the other men could confirm his radar, _“Launching alpha red flare.”_

That was the cue that Gilbert needed to deploy the main weapons of the aircraft, now that they could focus on the bigger flock of dark enemies while Alfred handled the smaller ones, _“Detaching aircraft rockets,”_ Pressing a button, what looked like launch pads began to extend around the sides of the ship. Before beginning anything though, Gilbert chuckled, “ _Good luck, Alfred.”_

Hearing the support from his team was a good motivator at the moment when he had first flown out since within seconds of his ship being spotted, it wasn’t long until the smaller flock had immediately gone in the direction of where he was flying. It was just as Alfred had expected, resulting in him immediately press a button on his end to launch out missiles that were connected to the ship.

All it took was directing the missiles at the flock before launching them, and a huge majority of the flying creatures to be destroyed then and there.

“Let’s go!” Alfred couldn’t help but laugh through his microphone while keeping his eyes focused up ahead, “I just killed about twenty-five of those things! How are you hanging over there, Gilbert?”

Laughter could be heard from his headset, specifically coming from Gilbert. Alfred rose a brow in suspicion upon hearing this, but he did get an answer the second he had noticed behind him, what looked to be larger missiles being shot from the launch pad of the aircraft hit a larger flock of the creatures.

“Oh please, I just took out fifty of them,” Gilbert chuckled before repositioning the launchpad for a quick reload, “See if you can beat that record, you’re highness.”

Taking out the monsters had become a small game for the men. While at first, it was a harmless joke, it seemed to have become competitive particularly with Gilbert and Alfred going one on one to see how many creatures of the dark that they could take out without getting themselves swarmed. The more they were able to take out, the clearer of a path they’d be able to set for the rest of the ship once they landed.

In the midst of clearing out the area, this hadn’t stopped four individuals from stepping out the entrance of the palace.

Gelinda, Aviana, and Nebula had begun walking down a bridge connected to the entrance of the palace. Just behind them, as the orders were given by the Dark Lord, the Princess followed; her head up this time while observing her surroundings. She was quiet most of the time but did find herself picking up the conversation that the witches were having.

“At least we’re not the ones charging up our powers to these monsters,” Aviana couldn’t help but sigh while walking ahead; ignoring the fact that the Princess was following just behind them, “Leave it up to the brainwashed Natalya to do that work for us. I still can’t believe the Dark Lord managed to accomplish that.”

Indeed, it was a very shocking thing for all of them. Even for Gelinda, it was hard for her to ignore Natalya, where her expression had been mostly full of anger and hatred toward the girl, “…I could kill her right here, right now, if I wanted to,” She began with a small sigh, holding herself back at the moment until the four women had arrived towards the middle of the bridge, “But I’d rather not be haunted by the Dark Lord’s spirit for the rest of my existence… so I’ll play along as well, if it means we get to go inside the Realm of Relix,” She slowly turned her head around, only to glare right at Natalya who remained silent before giving the demand, “Alright you Pixie, you know what to do. Listen to what your master said and get fucking to it.”

The demand was indeed clear. One that she didn’t even need to be reminded of. The Dark Lord had made the objective in her head clear enough, that all it had taken was Gelinda reminding her of the order to take a step forward while observing the situation.

Creatures of the dark were being taken down by indeed the unauthorized aircraft. The aircraft, she couldn’t recognize at all… But something about seeing it take down the monsters, in addition to the smaller ship…

…was it bad that her heart pained at the sight of it?

No, she wasn’t supposed to be feeling pain. The Dark Lord was the only master that she had to focus on. She had to complete her mission to please him, and so, that was what Natalya’s mind had exactly done at the moment as she stood there and held her hands out; closing her eyes to focus into her enchantment,

As she did so, dark shadows began to surround the girl, thus having the three witches stumble back a bit from being startled at the sight of this.

 _“…Blinding…”_ Were the only words that came from the girl at first, before holding out her hand that glew with power now into the air. With a flashlight, two orbs had gone flying directly at the two vehicles flying around the realm.

First, the ship with the main heroes and fairies…

…the second, to the ship that Alfred had been on by himself.

The hit was unexpected. As the men indeed were distracted by their game, the first orb went flying from directly behind them in a flank. Gilbert and Antonio hadn’t seen this, but Alfred found himself on his own ship feeling his eyes widen at the sight of an orb of magic coming from a direction from up above them.

He adjusted his headset and shouted after pressing a button to communicate with the other men, “Guys, duck the ship! There’s an attack coming from the North of the realm.”

The alerting response that came from Alfred had Gilbert and Antonio find their instincts kick into full gear. The second this was said, the aircraft was immediately lowered down from the air so the orb had missed; thus hitting a nearby, stone wall as part of the realm.

Those who were seated with their seatbelts, resulted in gasps and shrieks of panic to erupt from specifically Florentyna, Mei, and Tatyana who had been holding onto their seats for dear life, all while laughter managed to erupt from Anneliese while she held onto her seat, Monika panicky held onto her seat and breath, all while Elizabeta remained still.

“What the hell was that!?” Monika couldn’t help but shout from her own seat at her brother, “I’m going to be sick if you keep that up, Gilbert!”

The sudden lecture from his younger sister had Gilbert’s eyes roll to the back of his head in annoyance. He turned to face the girl for the sake of her reassurance, “Relax, sis. Everything’s okay. There was an attack from the North, so I think the Dark Lord knows we’re here. Alfred was warning us about it—“ Slowly turning his head around now, that was when Gilbert was greeted to the sight of another surprise.

Another bright orb of magic. This time, going straight towards the direction of Alfred’s ship.

“Alfred!” Gilbert had turned on his headset, “There’s a flank behind ya, try to avoid it!”

The warning was alarming to Alfred, but he found himself immediately looking at his map just as Gilbert had told him. And indeed based on his cameras, he could see a bright orb of magic flying at the direction of his ship.

What was going on? Who was sending their attacks at them? It couldn’t have been the Dark Lord, but it seemed that he had someone casting spells at them in order to divert them from reaching the palace to make a landing.

All Alfred could do at the moment was dodge the attack. Fortunately, with having enough time, he was able to redirect the ship instead of north, for it to go south, all while the orb of magic had hit against another pillar that was made out of rubble, stone, and dirt.

That was the first problem handled.

However, they needed to find the source of where the magic was coming from.

“Can we get a marker on our maps please on where we can detect that magic?” Alfred let out a small sigh of relief after dealing with dodging the attack at him, “If we don’t, there’s a chance it may send more attacks and we’ve already got enough with these damn flying demons going after us,”

“On it,” Antonio responded from his end of the connection. Seeing that he was in the co-pilot chair, this meant that he had access to all of the controlling perks in terms of navigation and the motherboard. He had set his end to autopilot on the ship, all while taking a moment to conduct a surrounding scan to see if they could detect any hint of magic outside of the ship.

Indeed, it didn’t take him long to find something.

Loud beeping could be heard from the navigation when he had discovered it. Antonio leaned forward in his seat to investigate as Alfred and Gilbert continued to fight off the creatures of the dark. The magic… It was coming from above them. That was why it made sense that the attacks were coming out of nowhere - they didn’t know where it was coming from until now.

A press on his headset to connect to Alfred on his end was made before Antonio spoke, “It’s coming from on top of us. Alfred, if you want to go and investigate, we’ll stay down here and handle the flocks so we can get that clear landing soon,”

That was enough of a plan for Alfred to nod, before he had pressed a few buttons on his own end and began to direct the ship upward, “Got it. Be careful.”

There were too many monsters on the premise area that landing was practically impossible unless they had taken out its source. Going up North, Alfred kept his eyes out on his navigation, as well as in front of him to see anything. A lot of boulders, and large rocks of enemies that were hidden behind its cracks - but not too dangerous to cause mayhem existed.

Even when these monsters had begun to notice him, he had taken initiative by sending his own attacks out of defense to eliminate them. He decided, may as well take out as many enemies as he could, for the sake of the aircraft that was taking care of its own problems of monsters.

What other sources than the monsters could there be?

Alas, the source of casting the spells only continued based on an order from the witch that stood behind her, keeping an eye on her to see if she would follow through.

The sight of it to Gelinda was still absolutely shocking. The fact that the Princess of the magic dimension, casting dark spells right in front of her eyes… It was all under the Dark Lord. While technically, the person in front of her was the physical form of the Princess, her mind was not. Gelinda knew this especially… As a witch who had fought against her once just months ago, this was not the true Princess at all.

It was the Princess trapped in a spell, that worked for the situation.

The more and more Natalya had cast her spells, she was focused. Her mind had been clogged with different spells that came naturally to her from the spell she was under; her hands in the air as powerful magic had blasted throughout the area and allowed for creatures of the dark to continue to rise from different areas of the realm. Some were flying, some were climbing against the side of Demande’s palace…

…For the sake of protecting all pieces of the codex, she was only listening to the orders that she was being given by her master.

As guardian of the dragon flame and heart of ice, there existed a lot of things about her magic that outside of being under a spell that she had no control of. One of them was seeing the auras and true natures of others… And in some instances, it included detecting other magical beings that were within close proximity of where she was standing.

The fact that a magical being with a ship coming at their direction was enough for the girl to lower her hands in a halt; a neutral expression forming on her face. Natalya slowly turned her head over to Gelinda, where the witch glared at the fairy in confusion about what she was doing.

_“…there’s someone coming…”_

The Princess’ tone of voice was dead. There was no life to it - only a monotone voice that made the situation a bit more uncomfortable for Gelinda knowing that she was a puppet.

Her warning, however, was one that the witch didn’t ignore. Though just as she was about to question the fairy, the witch found herself being discovered to the sounds of loud blasts coming from below them. Her eyes widened as she shot a glare down at the direction of the sounds, only to be greeted to the sight of indeed, a red ship being piloted coming right in their direction.

No… That wasn’t any ordinary ship. It was one that was the direct property of the University of Heroics and Bravery.

Inside the ship, Alfred had his headset turned on once again upon the navigation beginning to pick up the powerful magic more and more, “I think I managed to find the source of the magic, Gil.” Were the first words that came from him upon getting closer and closer. The higher he went, that was when he began to notice a balcony made out of stone coming to take shape, “I’m going to go take it out—“

His tone of voice immediately choked in the midst of his sentence. The second his eyes had laid on the source that was picking up from his navigation… He was absolutely horrified at what he was seeing.

 _“…Copy to Alpha ship?”_ Gilbert’s voice rang from Alfred’s headset upon the mentioning of finding the source, _“Alfred? You all good, man?”_

“…N-Nat…”

_“Alfred? What’s going on?”_

The wind began to pick up as the ship leveled with the balcony now. As he remained midair, the only person Alfred found himself staring right at was the one individual he did not expect to see so soon. After the whole kidnapping, he found himself relieved to be seeing what he was seeing…

…but how the love of his life was dressed in a beautiful, white gown and did not radiate any sort of positive magic - something didn’t settle right.

Gelinda found her eyes narrowing in suspicion the second the ship secured itself midair in front of them. She couldn’t tell at first it was once afar who was the one piloting, but the fact that it was stopped and focused right on the Princess… That was when it all clicked in her head.

A large smirk formed on the witches’ lip before she looked over at Natalya, who seemed to be still.

Bright red orbs made contact with the bright blue ones that were inside the ship. To Alfred, he knew that was her… That was the same girl he loved, the same powerful fairy he had gotten to known… But, it wasn’t her at the same time. That dark expression, her eyes, the amount of negative energy that was being detected from his motherboard… What was going on?

 _“Natalya!”_ Alfred’s voice rang through Gilbert and Antonio’s headsets, resulting in the two men who were in the process of piloting the other aircraft to pause in the midst of their work.

“Natalya? You found her?” Gilbert immediately spoke quickly, almost with a bit of relief to his tone of voice, “Is she okay?! Alfred, what’s going on!?”

Gilbert’s exclamation about Natalya was one that did not take long for those who were in the aircraft to immediately pick up. His relieved tone of voice captured the attention of the fairies who were seated, which he hadn’t realized was a bad idea all until he could hear footsteps behind him.

Turning around, a manicured hand reached for the headset on Gilbert’s head to immediately be put on her head. Florentyna cleared her throat before speaking loud and clear, “Alfred, if you found Nat, go get her now!” She shouted, though was only greeted with silence after making her demand, “…Alfred?! What’s going on, tell her to hop on your ship so we can get the hell out of here!”

‘ _Something’s not right.”_

The dark glare that came from the blonde that he knew didn’t settle well in his mind at all. If anything, the witches behind her made it ten times more concerning for Alfred seeing that Natalya wasn’t fighting them, nor trying to escape their grasp. She absolutely despised witches - this was just the reality. After everything Gelinda had done to her, Alfred knew if Natalya could, she would have sent Gelinda to oblivion the day the witch broke into her home and stole her powers earlier that year.

Why wasn’t she reacting at all?

“Well well well, Princess… Isn’t that very sweet of your Prince Charming to come and save you?” A small hum of amusement came from Gelinda before she crossed her arms, watching the fairy in front of her not move a single bulge at all, “Too bad you have your orders from the Dark Lord. Now, here’s your next task… _Kill him.”_

The demand being given by Gelinda had Aviana and Nebula stare at the witch with horror in their eyes. She had to be joking, was she?

 _“Natalya!”_ A speaker managed to erupt from the ship that was in front of them. Alfred spoke into his headset; disconnecting from Gilbert and Florentyna momentarily to call out to the girl to see if she’d respond, _“I’ll get you out of there, just hang tight!”_

A look was cast by Gelinda now while she waited to see what the fairy would do after being given her command. Would she follow through?

To kill off her beloved. The Dark Lord had said to the witches face that the Princess was a dangerous puppet that could not be tinkered with. Any order, including to bringing death to all magical beings, was one that she could easily do with the say of one command. The Dark Lord was her master, while the witches served as her mistresses.

And Gelinda’s order was loud and clear for the Princess to hear.

“A classic Romeo and Juliet style of death to all…” A hint of laughter came from Gelinda upon watching the sight of the Princess standing there; her head lowering for a moment to take a moment to process the situation, “Would be funny if she killed herself right after too. Maybe if her little boyfriend dies by her hands, then the guilt would be so bad, she’d see no reason to live.”

One thing that none of the witches had noticed was the fact that at receiving this command, the Princess’ hands were shaking. There was a shaking sense of fear in them, that as she disconnected the eye contact with the man in the ship, she struggled to follow through with the order.

It was painful. It was as if there were a feeling in Natalya’s chest screaming no to not do it, to disobey the mistresses and Dark Lord with the order. This was not her. Hearing that voice from the speaker brought a sense of reassurance to her, that as she slowly rose her hand up into the air, it was clear that she was struggling with how much she was shaking.

…But she couldn’t stop the Shadow Virus.

_“…Charmix of Darkness.”_

Shadows filled around Natalya’s body as the enchantment was said aloud. This was a sight that Alfred hadn’t been expecting to see as he backed the ship away from the girl that radiated the powerful magic, to the point where when the shadows disappeared, he wasn’t greeted to her in the sight of the beautiful gown anymore.

Instead, a pair of wings had grown to her back. As part of her true form as a fairy, her colors were lighter… More, full of light, with usually a blue sparkling crop-top with a matching skirt, pair of boots, and pair of sleeves that only went up to her elbows…

…But now, he was instead greeted, to the color black as part of her true fairy form. A dark color that radiated negative energy, that when her eyes had made contact with him again, a smirk that he had never seen from her before settled the fact that there was something wrong with her for sure.

Jumping into the air, Natalya remained mid-air as her hands slowly glew with magic. Her hands rose in motion to cast an enchantment, resulting in what looked like dark pools of shadows to form around her.

The sight of this being enough of confirmation to Alfred that this wasn’t good at all.

_“…kill… creatures of the dark, eliminate the Dark Lord’s intruders…”_

Within seconds, large monsters began to rise from the shadows of dark magic. For the witches, the sight of this was amazing, since they add never experienced magic like what they were seeing.

“I wish I knew how to summon demons like that,” Nebula couldn’t help but mutter; brushing her hair over her shoulder while watching the sight with her arms crossed.

The monsters had lined up in front of the balcony, eyeing directly at the ship that Alfred had been in. It looked to be about twenty or so of them - the man couldn’t even tell due to how horrified he found himself in the situation seeing what Natalya was doing. Let alone, seeing a darker appearance in terms of her true form as a fairy.

One of the monsters that stood right in front of the fairy immediately launched itself at the ship.

As the monster launched at the ship, loud crashes could be heard at it immediately going for the engines outside of it. He was going to crash - the spell that Natalya cast was to attack him! “I can’t get to her!” Alfred immediately began flying away from the balcony. As badly as he wanted to get out, the number of monsters that surrounded the girl - it was too dangerous. She wasn’t herself, and he could see it right away. His yelling only continued to ensue while attempting to shake off the monster, “She’s not herself! There’s something wrong with her — I need back up, _immediately!_ ”

Alfred’s voice had been blaring through both Gilbert and Antonio’s headsets at that point. Even loud enough for Florentyna to pick up due to how loud it was.

“Alfred’s in trouble-!” Florentyna began in a panic, which immediately had the men who were controlling the ship immediately set up their departure from the flock of dark creatures that had been going after them. The blonde found herself looking over at Gilbert with concern brought to her expression, “What can we do!?”

The announcement that came from Florentyna was enough for all of them to hear. Elizabeth stood up from her seat, approaching where Gilbert had been sitting while the man had begun to prepare the ship for an emergency rescue mission, “Is there any way you can land the ship so we can fly and go after him, especially if Natalya is there?”

“No way,” Gilbert looked at the brunette with a serious expression on her face, “The second you step out of his ship, those monsters are going straight to you. Sorry, my job is to protect everyone on board here when the Captain can’t, Princess.” He said simply, which only had Elizabeta scoff at him. He turned on his microphone, connecting to Alfred once more, “We’re heading up there now, we’re going to do a ship to ship landing,”

_“Just forget about me, man! Just go and rescue Natalya!”_

The demand was clear. The situation Alfred was in - it wasn’t good at all. The monster that had jumped onto his ship continued to over and over again punch against the engine; resulting in him to spiral out of control. He had set the emergency landing gear for himself on, but the fact of the issue was that he didn’t know if he was _actually_ going to make it seeing how that one dark spell was enough to get him into a state like this.

The thing was that for someone like Gilbert, his hands had tightened on the wheels of the ship before responding to the other, “What do you mean, forget about you?” He argued back, already shifting gears and exchanging a brief nod with Antonio before they began to make their way north of the realm, “Did you ever forget about us? Shut up. I’m going to open up the bay in the back, try to see if you can control and land yourself in here. If you’re going to crash, crash at least in here because you ain’t dying yet.”

Dying… Those were words that all of the fairies and heroes on the ship found themselves horrified hearing. The situation was bad to the point where the monsters were trying to kill him? That couldn’t happen, no.

Even for Anneliese, her eyes widened in horror hearing the mentioning of the situation that Alfred was in.

The words that came from Gilbert was one that Alfred couldn’t help but find himself amused too. He chuckled before pressing a few buttons on his motherboard, before eventually, locking one of the missiles on the monster on the ship to shoot off. A loud blast ensued as the shot hit, resulting in the monster to fall directly below him hundreds of feet down to the ground, “Great, well my wing is shot. So if that’s your plan, get up here quick, because I’m pretty sure it’s not Natalya controlling these monsters, but those witches are telling her what to do and she’s just listening!”

As he had said this, it was as if on cue he could see a line-up of more monsters beginning to jump from the balcony to directly go after him. Alfred’s eyes widened since with his left-wing completely destroyed, he didn’t have enough missiles to take out all of the monsters. He set himself up though for as many missiles he could send at the monsters, it still wouldn’t be enough…

…That was until loud blasts could be heard from behind him.

Gilbert had immediately spotted the sight of Alfred’s ship the second they had boosted the aircraft to go up North. The situation was indeed very bad, as he said. Even though he couldn’t properly see the balcony, the fact that there were large monsters beginning to launch themselves right at Alfred and not even their ship - there was something very wrong in the situation.

“Alright buddy, I’m opening up the hatch now,” Antonio spoke into his own headset while turning his fingers over to the controls of the motherboard so he could open the back panel of the ship.

Gilbert had directed the ship in front of Alfred with a bit of faster speed, seeing that Alfred’s ship was slowly beginning to go down. At the same time, making sure to send attacks at the monsters that were dropping down.

Within seconds of opening the hatch, Alfred found a sense of relief hit him. The hatch was right in front of him - all he had to do was land inside it, “At least UHB taught us about emergency landings last month, eh?” He couldn’t help but chuckle, before focusing his attention on the controls of the ship.

The issue for him had been that due to the weight of the monsters slamming against the ship, the wing had been guiding him opposite to where he wanted to land. The hatch was right in front of him, which it seemed easy to the naked eye to try and land…

…But with a wing as badly damaged as his, it wasn’t that easy.

“It’s not going to work!” Alfred called out from his end of the ship, all while attempting to maintain control with the wind speed completely messing with his altitude of the situation. He was going more and more down, which meant there wasn’t enough time, “The wing is too shot that the direction of the wind is changing where I want to go.”

There had to be another way. A way to perhaps reel him into the ship without causing both ships to crash. Gilbert paused for a moment before turning to face the fairies, who seemed to be ready in the action of wanting to help out. That was indeed when he found himself having an idea, resulting in him looking over at Elizabeta, “…Okay,” He sighed, “Now I may need your help in this.”

“Good, because I’m tired of sitting here like some sort of vegetable not being able to do anything,” Elizabeta crossed her arms and turned her head over to Gilbert, “What do you need?”

“Is there any way you can reel the ship in?” Gilbert went straight to the point, since there was no more time to waste, “The wing is shot, so the wind is messing with the landing.”

To pull in a ship… She could easily do that, but it would be a bit difficult and would require strength. Elizabeta swallowed for a moment since it was a request that she didn’t even know if she was strong enough to do. She looked over at the rest of the ground before asking, “Yes, but…” She took in a breath, “I need help too, more strength to pull him in.”

“I’ll help,” Mei stood up immediately at the mentioning of this. Her head looked over at Tatyana and Florentyna since Monika had still been busy watching the main motherboard of the ship since the error that it had encountered earlier with the attacks at the entrance of Shadow Haunt, “Watch Anneliese, I’ll go with Liz.”

Both Florentyna and Tatyana nodded in agreement. Even if their powers couldn’t help in that situation, there was a promise they had all made to King Alfred before their departure - and that was to protect his daughter no matter what.

For Anneliese, the girl pouted and crossed her arms. Being babysat? She had been about to offer to go out and help, but since Mei had insisted she stay there with Florentyna and Tatyana protecting her, she was a bit annoyed. Why sit back when she wanted to join in with all the action?

It was just like home. Being babysat due to inexperience.

Elizabeta and Mei exchanged brief nods with one another before rushing to the back of the ship, which Antonio had opened to both ladies so they could reach the hatch. As the doors opened, a harsh wind blew against them, but that was when both fairies were able to see it.

The sight of Alfred’s ship looking like it was about to crash. It was already struggling to be in the air with the broken wing, which meant that they had to act fast in the situation.

Which included using their powers, despite wanting to hold back a little longer to preserve them due to the dark energy that lingered in the realm.

_“Charmix!”_

A bright light formed around each girl as they stood there. All it took was a few seconds for the transformation sequences to take place, where their original human forms have blossomed into one of a pair of wings behind their backs.

Elizabeta took a step outside of the light, where in addition to the wings, she had been wearing a sparkling light green top around her bust, as well as a matching skirt with a band of fabric connecting between the two pieces. On both sides of her head, her hair had been pulled halfway back with a pair of rose barrettes, while she also wore a pair of matching green boots to her attire.

The light around Mei’s body began to lessen, revealing her true self as a magical being to the other. She wore a red sparkling tank top with only one sleeve on her shoulder, as well as a matching skirt and pair of boots to it. Around her arm, there had been a purple ribbon that sparkled. Her hair had been curled and pulled back into low pigtails with pink streaks coming down to the ends of her hair, all while her bangs covered her forehead.

The two fairies jumped Into the air where Elizabeta had held her hands towards the ship Alfred was in. With her eyes glowing of magic, an orb of magic formed in the palms of her hands where she had cast a spell to form what looked to be a long rope created by the molecules of water, _“Chain of rain!”_

The long rope made out of the water had wrapped itself around the ship. Alfred noticed exactly what was going on the second the rope had made contact with the ship — they were going to pull him in. Seeing that this was the case, he had hit the gas a bit more on the engine, that way it would be easier for them to pull him in.

Elizabeta lowered herself to the ground and shot a look over at Mei, “I need your help, now! Go outside and see if you can push him in while I pull!”

“Roger that!” Mei flew toward the direction of outside the hatch. Being outside of the ship, indeed right away, she could tell there was a heavy amount of negative energy on the outside. She knew she couldn’t be long outside, which was why she had to hurry. Especially with Elizabeta pulling, she needed as much support as she could get since pulling in a ship that probably weighed tons was extremely difficult.

The sight of a fairy flying right behind him was one that Alfred wasn’t expecting to see at all. Let alone, only for Mei to wave briefly at the blonde before focusing towards the back of the ship, where she had held out her hands to her sides and took in a deep breath.

“Sorry Alfred, it’s going to get a bit bumpy!” She called out to the other in the ship as her hands began to glow with power. While focusing her magical energy on the spell, Mei took in a deep breath before positioning her hands towards the ship and flying closer; pressing the palms of her hands again the metal surface of it before whispering, “ _Rhythm push…”_

The feeling of the ship vibrating immediately caught Alfred’s attention as he held onto his seat with one hand, while the other hand focused on continuing to control the ship so it would enter the hatch.

Elizabeta on the other end of the ship began to pull. Her feet had been planted to the ground, where she had held onto the rope of magic with a firm grip. At first, she struggled from the vibrating of the spell Mei had cast, but the more Alfred guided the ship in, the more she had control of the situation and was able to pull in more and more.

That was when Alfred was beginning to notice a difference compared to when he was alone earlier. The wind was more controlled with Elizabeta’s pulling and Mei’s pushing, to the point where he had spoken into his headset connected to the heroes on the ship, _“It’s working!”_

Elizabeta backed up more and more while she pulled. It was probably equally as difficult as attempting to take down the Dark Tower earlier in the semester.

As the ship inched closer to the hatch, Gilbert on his end took initiative by slowing the speed of the ship down so at least it was a steady landing. He, Elizabeta, and Mei had worked together to get the ship to land easy, which through this simple teamwork, it wasn’t long until success paid off.

Giving one last tug on the rope, Elizabeta noticed the ship coming right at her direction. She took this as her chance to jump into the air while Mei flew directly back inside the hatch, watching as the ship that Alfred had come into a safe landing.

The sound of something heavy landing itself down in the hatch could be heard by everyone in the main hatch of the ship, where relieved cheers could be heard knowing that it was a successful landing and that they were able to get Alfred back in.

Even for Anneliese, who had rushed towards one of the windows to watch the entire scene take place with Mei and Elizabeta helping Alfred get back into the ship, her eyes were widened in amazement. The relief was plastered on her own face before she closed her eyes and took in a breath, _’I’m so glad he’s okay…’_

“Great job you guys, seriously,” Gilbert was absolutely relieved at that point. The issue at hand was that while he genuinely wanted to make sure that his best friend was okay, he was also doing his job as the Prince’s aide. If something had happened to him, goodness, he didn’t even want to think about what King Arthur would do with him and his family, “You guys get back in the main hatch, and we’ll take care of the rest of the monsters from here so we can conduct our landing.”

In the midst of his sentence, he found himself pausing upon noticing the bridge that was indeed full of monsters. That was exactly what Alfred had been talking about — the monsters that were attacking him. They seemed to have been on standby, almost as if they were waiting to be given more orders.

The sounds of doors opening from behind those who were in the pilot chairs could be heard. Almost immediately at the sight of Alfred, Mei, and Elizabeta walking in, that was enough confirmation that everyone was okay in the situation. The thing was, something didn’t seem right to Gilbert, resulting in him not even turning around.

“Are you okay!?” Florentyna was the first to blurt out and run over to Alfred with worry brought to her expression, “That was insane! What even happened to the ship where it was close to crashing?”

That was a question that even Alfred didn’t know if he had the right answer to. As he stood there, he sighed for a moment, “I have no idea, Florentyna… but I appreciate the concern. I’m alright,” He began before looking around, indeed taking note of Anneliese who was standing by the window and looking out of it, “Is everyone okay here?”

“Yeah,” Monika called out from her seat in front of the motherboard where she had been continuing to examine it, “But I have a feeling that this isn’t the first problem we’re going to encounter now that we know these monsters exist.”

“Speaking of monsters…” Gilbert lowered his headset and turned his head over to Alfred, motioning for the other to approach him. The blonde noticed this and immediately walked over to Gilbert, waiting for what he needed to say, “Alfred… Didn’t you say you saw Natalya out there?”

A moment of realization hit Alfred at the reminder from what he had seen. He did, it was actually her… But, it didn’t seem to be her at the same time, “Yeah, it was her. But I don’t know what’s going on,” He began, “She was in this white gown, standing on top of the balcony… And then she transformed, and all of a sudden, all of these monsters were rising above ground and launching at me—“

_“Then take a look at this,”_

The ship had risen above to where the balcony of the palace was, just where Alfred had been moments ago before the ship had crashed. Alfred took a step forward to examine what was in front of the display in front of him, now noticing that Gilbert had been seeing.

The monsters were all lined up there. They hadn’t been attacking - let alone, attempting to go after them. But the biggest surprise to it all was the fact that where he had seen Natalya…

…she wasn’t there at all.

It was as if what he had said didn’t make sense at all to Gilbert. She was there — Alfred swore that he saw her. His eyes widened for a moment before approaching the monitor to zoom to the balcony to get a closer look.

There was nothing. No sight or trace of a human, which only grew to his confusion.

“What the hell, man…” Alfred’s brows furrowed in frustration before taking a step back; his arms crossed with an annoyed expression on his face. At last, when he had hope that he finally could see her again and rescue her from the situation — she wasn’t herself. Let alone, she was gone? Did the Dark Lord take her away again after what had happened with the scene of his ship almost crashing outside of his palace, “That doesn’t make sense… She was standing right there, plain insight. I made direct eye contact with her, Gil,” He looked over at the other man who seemed to be confused, “…But…

… _I have a bad feeling that’s not the Nat we know who was standing there.”_

* * *

The demand was loud and clear from the Dark Lord.

_Return the Princess immediately. The intruders are taken care of, return immediately._

The spell that Natalya had cast was enough to summon an array of monsters to guard the balcony of the palace, that way there would be no entry point for the heroes and fairies on the ship to be able to get into the Dark Lord’s try lair. The thing was, the eagerness that came from the demon’s tone of voice about how he needed the Princess back immediately, brought disgust to the witches.

The infatuation that the Dark Lord had with her… It sickened all of them, especially Gelinda. The only reason why they stuck by the order was that having access to the Realm of Relix was almost equivalent to having the Dragon Flame and Heart of Ice. There was also the fact that the Princess was doing most of the work of giving the team of heroes and fairies a harder time of getting in, so it wasn’t that big of an inconvenience.

Walking back to the throne room where the Dark Lord had awaited for the four women to arrive, the grand doors had been opened to the sight of where they had last left him. The key to the Realm of Relix in its keyhole, waiting to be turned and unlocked.

Demande slowly rose himself from his throne and approached the four ladies as the doors closed behind them. His arms were resting behind his back, while his eyes were specifically on the Princess. The girl was quiet as always and kept her head down, avoiding eye contact with the Dark Lord despite his demand of hat wanting her back in his view immediately after taking care of the intruders.

Now that it was all handled, that meant it was time to initiate the process of unlocking the time and space portal.

“The Realm of Relix is ready to be opened, dearest Princess,” The demon smirked down at the girl all while reaching over to brush her hair away from her face. The woman was still and refused to say a word while avoiding eye contact with the man, “And already transformed into her true form as a fairy… How marvelous of attire to be in for this occasion.”

“Yeah yeah, enough about her,” Gelinda interrupted, since the longer they wasted, the more time the heroes and fairies had to break in and stop them. Her interruption did result in the Dark Lord to cast a glare at the witch, “She opens the portal, and we’re done with her, yes?”

Done with her? These words didn’t settle well with the Dark Lord at all.

Demande lowered his hand away from the Princess to approach the door that stood in front of them. With his hand over the key, he observed it for a moment before casting a glance over at Gelinda, “Not quite…” He began, before his smirk quickly returned for what he planned on saying, “We shall open the portal, and only myself and the Princess will be entering… _none of you will.”_

The last statement that came from the Dark Lord had the three witches go silent. What did the Dark Lord mean by that?… As in, they wouldn’t have access to the time and space portal at all? After all of the work they had done?

“…What’s that supposed to mean, Dark Lord?” Nebula was the first to question before taking a step forward, her expression growing in annoyance since she didn’t want to believe what she was hearing, “You aren’t suggesting that we stay back now, are you?”

“Nebula has a point,” Aviana’s hands were in fists as she stood there, keeping her distance from the demon before she cast an angered look at Natalya, “How come _she_ gets to go? She’s our enemy, she doesn’t deserve to have access to the Realm of Relix at all after we’ve done everything to get the pieces of King Viktor’s Codexes so we can have the damn key—“

Laughter erupted from the Dark Lord as the allegations began. It was an expected response… One which he found himself looking at the witches with his growing smirk before pulling his hand away from the key to point at them, “I think you ladies haven’t realized that the only individual _I_ want to join me is the Princess… No, the future Queen of the magic dimension. You three wouldn’t stand a chance in the Realm of Relix - she is more powerful than all of you combined and worthy enough to enter.”

“Excuse me!?” Gelinda blurted out immediately and took a step forward towards the Dark Lord; anger building up immediately on top of the already annoyance she was experiencing. Her anger was noticed by the demon, who only turned his head away to motion the Princess towards him, which she reluctantly did follow, “I think we’re better worthy than that _bitch t_ o enter the Realm of Relix, especially after the bullshit you put is through to get all the pieces of the Codex-!”

The insult had the demon glare at the witch before in seconds, his hands had pointed right at her and an orb of magic had shot right from him in her direction. The magic, which Gelinda didn’t expect, hit her directly against the chest which had her flying off to the other side of the room.

Both Aviana and Nebula found themselves shocked at the sight of this, which the two had been just about to launch their own attacks…

…But alas, the Dark Lord had beaten them to it.

With his hands in the air, what looked to be a portal formed underneath all three of them. The portal immediately sucked them all in, leading them to an escape route of the realm. Laughter erupted from the demon as he did this; not even showing a sign of care at the sight of the betrayal that was taking place.

Betrayal in a new setting - it was one that none of the witches had ever expected to experience. Especially after worshipping him for so long - he was tossing them out as if they were nothing to him anymore?

“Consider yourselves…” The demon smirked upon hearing the screams from the witches erupt while they were dragged down, “…terminated from being my witches.”

* * *

_“Jeez, these monsters are endless…”_

Shifting positions on the ship to have Alfred back in the pilot’s chair, while Gilbert had been in the co-pilot’s chair, did not stop the fact that monsters were continuing to fly right behind them. Despite attacking them over and over, the issue was that the monsters were only there to waste more time so they couldn’t get to the main entrance of the palace.

A small sigh of frustration came from Alfred seeing that it was endless. They had to land in an area that wasn’t loaded with monsters — that was just going to get them all killed. And after a scare like that earlier with his ship, he didn’t want any more risk being taken place at that moment.

“Elizabeta,” Alfred cast a glance over at the brunette who was standing in the middle of the ship, patiently awaiting how she could help, “Do you know of any other entrances other than the actual main entrance of the palace? An area that’ll less likely have any monsters.”

“…You kidding me?” Elizabeta couldn’t help but to let out a small hint of laughter in a sarcastic tone of voice. Her expression then turned serious before shaking her head, “No… But we need to get in there, even if there’s a ton of monsters. I’m worried about Natalya after what you saw earlier.”

“I’m sure Natalya’s okay,” Tatyana responded in reassurance before placing a hand on Tatyana’s shoulder, giving it a small squeeze, “She’s a powerful fairy and knows what she’s doing. If Alfred saw her, then that means she wasn’t injured…”

“Wasn’t injured…” A small sigh came from Anneliese who had been sitting just behind them; avoiding all eye contact at that statement. She knew the truth, but she didn’t even want to admit to the others what she knew. However, her small statement was quickly picked up by Elizabeta and Tatyana, who looked at the girl with concern grown to their expressions, “Eh…I wish.”

Tatyana took a step away from Elizabeta and approached Anneliese, frowning before kneeling down to look at the younger girl, “You wish what, sweetie?”

“…That she _was_ okay.” Anneliese muttered, giving enough of a confirmation that she was also worried as well. She stood up from her seat, casting a look over at Elizabeta, “The Legendary… Doesn’t feel right with me right now, so something is wrong. Terribly wrong.”

A frustrated sigh erupted from behind Tatyana and Anneliese, where Florentyna had walked over to one of the windows of the ship to look out of it. The missiles and blasters at the same time, continuing to take out monsters that approached them, “Great, so Natalya’s not okay. Good to know,” She looked over at the man who was busy maintaining control of the ship, “Is there any other way to get in?

“As I said, no,” Elizabeta looked over at Florentyna, approaching the other as she did so, “The palace is the quickest way we’ll get in—“

_“…but maybe there is another way…”_

Monika whispered to herself as she cast a look over at the navigation of the ship. Stepping away from the motherboard that she had been monitoring for the last few minutes, she looked at the navigation before holding her hands towards the monitor. Gilbert immediately noticed this, though before he had the chance to say anything, she interrupted him, “Let me check something…”

Her eyes glew with light as the scan took place, In the palm of her hand, the light formed on the monitor where she had begun to cast a scanning spell throughout the entire realm for different entrances of the palace. Not the main entrance, but one that was secluded and didn’t have as many monsters as there existed now.

Upon the navigation beginning to repeatedly ping at her, Monika blinked for a moment before feeling a large smirk form on her lips, “You guys need to check this out, I think I may have found something.”

“What is it?” Alfred set the ship to auto-pilot quickly before turning his head over to the blonde, where already Gilbert had been looking with Elizabeta.

With her finger, Monika had pointed on the map that was laid out through the navigation. Directly underneath the palace, there had been a blocked off entrance due to boulders hiding the area that she managed to pick up, “Right here,” She began, “There’s an entrance. It’ll take a bit of walking to get to the main entrance, but this leads directly to the Dark Lord’s throne room. We just need to blast the boulders and destroy them, and we’ll have a safe place to land and get off without any monsters.”

“And how do you suggest we blast it open?” Elizabeta rose a brow with a bit of amusement.

“Another easy answer.” Monika cast a glance over at Anneliese specifically, which caught the rest of the fairies off guard. If the girl was known for having a high level of magic — just based on the aura she radiated, it was clear enough that enough energy to perhaps conduct some spells that they wouldn’t be able to do.

That one look from the shorter-haired blonde had Anneliese’s eyes widened in the realization of what the older woman meant, “Me?” She couldn’t help but to choke out in a panicked tone of voice since the reality was, she knew a lot of spells… But ones where it came to blowing up things? “…Listen, I know a lot of spells, but offensive types - I don’t know that many.”

“Great way to put pressure on the kid like that, Moni,” Florentyna couldn’t help but chuckle before she settled down in a chair, thinking herself for a moment, “How about a convergence spell? We usually did it with Natalya, and I’m sure Anneliese knows how to do that.”

Anneliese turned her head immediately to the other, “I do.”

A long silence filled the ship when the idea was proposed by Florentyna. If she was serious, that meant they would all have to step out of the ship and make their way towards the blocked out entrance to cast the convergence spell. One blast of combining all of their magical energies - it would be perfect.

“That…” Monika stared at Florentyna in disbelief, “…has to be the smartest idea I have ever heard coming from Florentyna.”

“Hey!” Florentyna stuck out her tongue at the other playfully, “I pay attention too, you know!”

Despite the small taunt at Florentyna’s direction, Tatyana let out a small hint of laughter before approaching Monika in agreement, “A convergence spell… I’m down for it.”

“So that leaves us with the final question,” Monika nodded and looked over at Alfred, who had already stood up and was seated back in the pilot chair, “Could you?”

“Already on it,” As this was said, Alfred had looked over at the navigation and set their map point directly to where Monika had last left it. He turned his head to Gilbert, giving a brief exchange to the other before shifting from auto-pilot to manual control of the ship, “We’ll be there in less than two minutes, so do what you ladies need to do to prepare.”

“I’ll open up the hatch for you guys too,” Gilbert commented, turning his head over to the fairies who stood in the middle of the ship, “And we’ll take care of any monsters that may try to go after you guys.”

It was a solid plan that they had established. It should work — so long as they didn’t mess up or make any errors when focusing their magic. The five fairies in addition to the younger fairy walked directly towards the back of the ship where the entrance had opened up to connect them to the hatch.

Already, most of them had transformed into their true forms as fairies, which left for Anneliese who stood there for a moment to take in a breath, before whispering the one true word to summon her true form as magical being as well, “ _…Charmix.”_

Instantaneous, a bright light formed around her body. Her arms had been held out for a moment as the sequence took place, before long, she stepped out of the light in an entirely new appearance compared to the battle attire she was given earlier at Lenfia prior to their departure.

On the top half of her body, she wore a yellow, sparkling top with a v-neck pair of sleeves going past her shoulders. The top itself had been ruffled with two layers, all while she wore a pair of sparkling shorts in matching to the color scheme. Around her feet, she wore ankle-lengthen boots, as well as had golden bracelets on her wrists. Her hair had been in a low side ponytail, curled naturally, with a braid starting at the top of her head. The ribbon that secured the ponytail had a large barrette made out of crystal, which was in the shape of a pair of butterfly wings.

For enough confirmation that the girl was truly the daughter of the future King and Queen of the magic dimension, her wings had been in similar shape to her mother’s when still in her charmix form as a fairy.

A shocking sight to all of the older fairies on board, which they were too speechless to even comment about. It was the first time they were all seeing Anneliese’s true form as a fairy - which was absolutely hard to believe.

Anneliese on the other hand wasn’t phased at all. It may be shocking to them, but she figured for the sake of time, she wouldn’t mention that she had unlocked her true abilities as a fairy… Only just a matter of months ago. She had been studying magic since the age of twelve, but she never got the chance to transform until months ago.

Leading to where she was now… She was a true beginner fairy, but had plenty of knowledge on magic and spells, as well as combat, through her parents and all of their future selves.

The sounds of the hatch beginning to open up had all of the fairies jump into the air at that point. The wind immediately picked up due to the ship still moving towards the entrance that Monika had detected on the navigation. Once it was fully open, Monika had been the one to turn to the rest of the group, “Let’s get going.”

One by one, each fairy had flown out of the hatch in the direction of where the ship was going. Just going outside of the ship, they were all exposed to the sight of monsters still chasing at them. However, the monsters seemed to be focused on the ship and now them, which gave them time to plan out the spell.

Spotting the blocked entrance was indeed hard at first. Seeing that the palace itself had been mostly made out of rock and boulders, Monika had scanned around the area until she had noticed a divot into one of the walls that had matched up to the navigation from her scan earlier. She flew towards it, “There!” She began before looking at the rest of the group, “One big attack and it’ll break.”

“I’ll start it off,” Elizabeta called out to the other; holding her hands out for a moment where magic quickly formed in the palms of her hands. Within seconds, four glowing orbs shot from her hands into the air, before taking shape into a sphere that would trap the convergence spell once cast.

“My turn!” Florentyna reached for the ring that was on her left finger; tossing it into the air quickly where it had transformed into a scepter. With this scepter, the fairy had swung it into the air where a bright light similar to the shape of sun was shot up towards the sphere that Elizabeta had formed. The light was trapped into it, making it a starting point for the rest of the group to focus their magical energy into it to cast the spell, “All set!”

Tatyana flew towards the orb to observe it, before holding a hand out towards one of the walls of the palace. Magic filled her own hand where a vine immediately broke through the rock; securing the sphere by keeping it in place so the weight of it wouldn’t drop, “Everyone, join hands and focus all your energy into it.”

Each fairy flew towards the direction of the glowing sphere. With no hesitation, each of them had taken one another’s hands. Even Anneliese, who found herself nervous in the situation since she hadn’t ever cast a convergence spell before, let one hand take Tatyana’s hand while the other take Florentyna’s hand.

However, her nervousness wasn’t unnoticed by the group.

“Hey Anneliese,” Mei couldn’t help but to comment before looking at the younger fairy; holding onto Monika and Elizabeta’s hands at the same time, “This your first time seeing a convergence spell?”

A nervous chuckle came from Anneliese as she quickly shook her head no, “N-No… I… I’ve seen it before, a lot, actually.” She wouldn’t get into detail, seeing that after all, she was still trying to preserve all of their innocence about their futures and what she knew, “But doing one with my own magic? Yes…”

“First time is always scary,” Tatyana smiled at the younger girl, before giving her hand a small squeeze of reassurance before turning her head up to the glowing orb, “You got this. Just take a breath, connect to your magical energy deep in your heart, and let your spirit do the rest of the work.”

It was a lot of information. A lot of information that Anneliese had no idea if made sense, but she nodded. If her heart would tell her what to do, then she would trust it. Especially since while she may be the youngest of the party, they were more experienced than her when she was just a recently-born fledged fairy.

All of them were silent as the convergence took place. Around their bodies, a light began to take shape in place of their auras, showing the connection that they were all having with giving power to the orb that would lead to their ticket into the palace and rescuing Natalya.

Just as Anneliese was told, the girl took in a breath while closing her eyes and focusing all of the power that she had within her… Deep in her heart, as Tatyana said. Allow for her mind and soul to do the work, while she supported the rest of the group.

Alas, the enchantment was said aloud in unison by the entire group when the orb had begun to glow rapidly in power, which showed that it was working.

_“Orb of the heavens, break thy walls of the Shadow Realm!"_

A powerful blast of magic ensued from the orb as the enchantment was said aloud. Within seconds of the spell being cast, the girls had let go of each other’s hands to fly away quickly from the area, seeing how quick the orb that had grown in power immediately launched itself to the blocked off entrance.

The sounds of explosions could be heard upon the orb making contact with the boulder. Followed by this, shattering rock began to drop from the entrance straight down to the ground hundreds of feet below, all while the fairies kept their distance, and the ship with the men observed the situation.

It was working.

The rock surrounding the entrance that Monika had discovered in her navigation, slowly in pieces, began to break apart. The more it broke apart and the boulders went flying down below them, the more of the entrance that they could see.

It was just as Monika had predicted. There were no enemies, and it had been a safe landing spot for all of them to get out and go after the Dark Lord inside the palace.

“YES!” Two fists were shot in the air by Mei in excitement at the sight of the success of the spell, “It actually worked!”

It was absolutely shocking to Anneliese. Just as Tatyana had told her, her magic would do the work… And she was able to cast her very first convergence spell then and there.

And with all… Well, the younger versions of her ‘aunties’ from back home.

Her family.

She couldn’t imagine conducting such a major spell for the first time without them. Even if the circumstances were different with it being with their younger selves and they barely knew her as she knew them, it didn’t matter. Anneliese was happy, and she sure couldn’t wait to tell the rest of her family back home about conducting her first convergence spell.

Despite her thoughts being in a different world, this didn’t neglect the fact from Florentyna approaching Anneliese while they were still in the air, only to pull her into a tight hug, “You did amazing, Anneliese!”

“Yeah, seriously kid,” Monika looked over at the blonde with a small smile of reassurance, “For a first-timer and doing it for the first time…” She chuckled and flew over to where the girl was in the process of being smushed in a hug by Florentyna, “…I can tell you really are the future Princess’ daughter. You’ll make a great guardian fairy when you’re older if you can do a convergence spell that early as a fairy.”

Hearing those words had Anneliese’s eyes widen. Being acknowledged like that… It was hard for her to believe. For the young girl, there was always a discussion of how she had high expectations. Even if she was young, when she began her journey of becoming a guardian fairy herself, she looked up to her mother a lot. Her mother was her entire inspiration since she was a child, that she dreamed of one day being as equally strong as her.

With having the guidance of her and the rest of her family - she knew she could do it. But she didn’t know if she could at the same time, since her family had gone through so much to build themselves as guardians and heroes of the magic dimension.

Being acknowledged as the Princess’ daughter instead of just the normal girl that she thought she was — it made Anneliese begin to tear up a bit at the compliment.

It was hard. Being told such a thing when her family wasn’t there…

…Let alone, she would have loved to have her mother there to hear such a thing.

The tears were something that Monika hadn’t expected at all. Her eyes widened in a panic as she waved her hands frantically, “Oh whoa whoa, Anneliese— you okay? Did I say something?”

The comment of if the girl was okay had Florentyna pull back from the hug, only to look at Anneliese with confusion brought to her expression upon noticing the tears.

However, Anneliese simply nodded and rubbed her eyes before giving a large smile to the others, “No no, it’s okay,” She giggled to herself, before taking in a breath and looking at the blonde, “I just… hearing that makes me… so happy…” Her cheeks were red from blushing in embarrassment. How was she supposed to be honest without being cheesy about it? “…I just, wish my mom was here to hear that.”

Silence came from Monika when she heard this statement. She understood the position where Anneliese was coming from… Knowing what was going on in the future, then what was taking place in that current time now with seeing well, the position of panic Alfred was in, while Natalya was in a dangerous situation.

She placed a hand on Anneliese’s shoulder once more and gave it a gentle squeeze, smiling at her in comforting reassurance that everything was okay, “Don’t worry… I’ll make sure to tell her once this situation is all over. Promise.”

To tell her? How was she going to tell her mother when her mother in this current time period had no idea who she was? Let alone, didn’t know of her existence? Anneliese had been just about to open her mouth to question it, but she was cut off quickly by Monika bringing her fingers to her lips to hint for her to not worry about it.

Instead, they were all introduced to the sight of the ship passing right behind them with a majority of the monsters now gone. It was at that point seeing that there was an open balcony for them to land on in the new entrance, there was no time to be wasting. Inside the ship, that was exactly what Gilbert and Alfred were planning.

“Amazing that they were able to do it,” Gilbert couldn’t help but chuckle as he focused on cutting on energy into the engines so they could land smoothly.

“I didn’t doubt it one second,” Alfred responded, keeping control of the ship by holding onto its wheel and waiting a moment to prepare for landing. With one flick of a button, the wheels underneath the ship had deployed, resulting in them to land down with a small bump, “They’re all powerful fairies… And with someone like Anneliese there too? I knew they could do it, easily.”

Once they were officially landed, sighs of relief and brief high fives were exchanged with each male on the ship. Anytime after a landing, it was always good to celebrate briefly, especially it was successful.

For now, though, they had to get out of the ship quickly and join the rest of the fairies, that had already landed outside of the ship and were waiting for the men to join them.

As the hatch of the ship opened, Alfred, Gilbert, Antonio, and Mathias were greeted to the sight of the fairies standing there.

One issue down with securing a private entrance, and no more issues to go seeing that they were still in the middle of their rescue mission, after all.

“Alright, so let’s get down to the serious business stuff,” Alfred began to the rest of the group before clearing his throat, “Once all of you ladies are in, we’re going to stay out here to guard the entrance and make sure no monsters find it. When the coast is clear, we’ll follow you guys as your support team.”

“Hold on,” Elizabeta interrupted and looked over at the blonde with confusion risen to her expression, “You aren’t coming with us?”

“No, not yet,” Mathias answered her question briefly as confirmation. It was a decision made by the heroes prior to their departure that if they were going to be the support team while the girls were on the offense, that meant they needed to back them up as best as they could, “Just until it’s clear. We managed to break free from the dark creatures following us, but it won’t be long until they find us again.”

“Splitting up the party…” A small hint of laughter couldn’t help but erupt from Anneliese, managing to catch everyone’s attention. She paused a moment and held her hands up innocently, “What? Haven't you guys seen those movies where if people split up, clearly bad things happen?”

“She’s got a point,” Mei agreed with Anneliese, even if the example was random, it did make sense, “Splitting up always is a bad sign.”

“It won’t be for long though,” Gilbert looked over at Mei with his brows narrowed, “Twenty minutes to make sure it’s clear, and we’ll follow. It’s much better you guys go up ahead now, that way you can catch up to wherever the Dark Lord is taking Natalya.”

There was no convincing the men at that point. If they were going to stay out there while they went ahead, then that was the plan since none of them had any other plan. Each fairy had jumped into the air, which at that point, Elizabeta had gone ahead since she was more familiar with the area since this had been her third time visiting the realm.

“Follow me, I’ll lead you guys to the nearest corridor,” She called out, before going on ahead.

Monika, Tatyana, Mei, and Florentyna had begun to go ahead. However, just before Anneliese had the chance to follow, she found herself turning to face the heroes for a moment who seemed to have been taking out gear to inspect the area. She bit down on her lower lip since there was one thing she was still worried about since the incident with the ship and Alfred…

..And so, leading for the girl to fly directly to Alfred without any warning, and hug onto him tightly.

The act was very unexpected. To say the least, Alfred had thought the younger girl had already gone ahead when Elizabeta told them to all follow. His eyes looked down at the girl for a moment while the rest of the heroes stared in confusion. Why was she hugging him?…

…or perhaps, was she worried about him?

“Uh, everything okay, Anneliese?” Alfred began in confusion before watching the girl let go of him. Her head seemed to be hung low, which then had him go down on one knee so he could look up at her, “Something happen?”

That was when the panic began to settle in. That was when she had to remember — this younger self wasn’t the Alfred she knew. Anneliese looked at the other and shook her head, “I… I’m okay, yeah, I just, I’m really glad you’re okay.” She began before jumping into the air to fly. In the air, that was when Alfred had looked up at her, a bit surprised until the girl had spoken, “Don’t worry… N-Natalya is going to be okay. I promise.”

Before quickly, she had turned herself around and gone flying opposite to where the rest of the men were standing, leaving Alfred there with surprise all over his expression.

“…You know what just happened?” Antonio grabbed onto Alfred’s shoulder and shook it a bit since the man seemed to startled by that sudden hug from the girl.

The thing was, Alfred wasn’t startled at all. It caught him off guard at first, yes, but with understanding the situation that the younger girl was coming from - she got scared for him. He could easily tell that was the case. After all, if he was in a similar situation and well… Saw the younger self of his own father in a dangerous position of getting killed, he’d be equally as horrified and worried too.

Alfred chuckled and held onto his sword at that point that he had pulled out so they could conduct their search, “Yeah _…_ Just a girl who loves Natalya as much as I do looking out for me.”

* * *

The door that led to the Realm of Relix radiated with power. Even for the Princess, she could detect right away that upon opening the door, it would be a whole other dimension. Not any normal dimension - one that allow anyone to alter the realities and fates of others.

The Dark Lord glared in the direction of where the three witches had disappeared to. They were off his list, for which he showed no remorse upon sending them out of the palace. The three witches successfully did their part of his plan, and now, all he needed was the Princess to finish his true intentions.

However, the fact that there were still intruders attempting to break into the palace to take back the Princess… It didn’t settle well in his mind.

“There is one last thing I must do, before we open the door, Princess,” Demande looked over at the blonde who remained silent. Instead, she focused on the door in front of her; observing it for more detail while on occasion, she cast a look at the key that was sticking through the keyhole.

Stepping away from the door, the demon approached the table in front of his throne where a crystal ball was placed. He hovered his hand over the ball, making sure to have an image of all the corridors of the palace.

As expected, right away, he noticed six fairies already beginning to make their way down one.

That was unacceptable.

Focusing his energy into the ball, his eyes suddenly grew dark in power. His hands radiated magic while the crystal suddenly turned dark, before he chuckled underneath her breath, “All my pets… Rise from the dead. Guardian of Shadow Haunt - make sure our intruders get nowhere near the throne room…”

From his image of the crystal, all of the corridors of the palace immediately rose with demons coming from the group. Some larger, some smaller - only to guard all hallways of the palace. One demon, in particular, this being the guardian, going specifically towards the direction of where all the fairies were flying from.

A hint of laughter erupted from the demon as he pulled his hand back. That should be enough to hold all of the fairies off - and would grant him enough time to enter the Realm of Relix with the Princess and proceed with what he needed to do.

Turning his head back over to the Princess, he approached her and held a hand out to the woman. The Princess noticed this for a moment and stared at the hand, before nonchalantly, taking the hand where Demande’s fingers had laced around hers with a firm grip. With his attention directly on the Princess, he had reached to guide her hand that had held onto the Legendary crystal to bring to his mouth...

…and swallowed it.

The gesture was fatal, but it was one that would guarantee that no one would be able to form a portal to the Realm. In addition, a guarantee that he would have full control of the Princess, even if she had no access to the crystal. 

With his hand holding onto the door handle, the Dark Lord had opened the door, only for a portal to be present in front of the two. He had begun to make his way through the door, forcing the younger girl to follow just him through the portal, “Behold, Princess… The gateway to Relix opens before us…

_…and when we step through, we will be face to face with everyone’s futures and pasts of the magic dimension.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YATTAAAAA, we're finally at chapter 12! It's crazy how close we are to the end of this part of the story! 
> 
> If I have to be honest, I absolutely hate having to write Natalya like some sort of mind-slave... But it's crucial to the story, and trust me, even though it's not in words - just know her true self is like, pretty much screaming on the inside. 
> 
> Also, I hope you guys are enjoying Anneliese so far! Make sure to enjoy her now while you can, because as I mentioned in previous chapters, she isn't coming back for a longggg time until years into the series. Her presence is going to be especially important in the final chapter. I'm going to miss writing her until her time comes, so I'll enjoy writing the final chapter and epilogue with her ending it off.
> 
> (If you haven't picked it up either, yes, there will be a part 3 to this story. We're nowhere near done yet to what I have been envisioning this entire story to be, heh~. c: )
> 
> This chapter took me a bit longer to do, seeing that finals season is right around the corner. Being in graduate school, you don't have finals either... It's a lot of projects, which is what I'll have to focus my attention on for the next few weeks. Which means, the final chapter will not be released UNTIL 12/19/2020. It could be earlier (I'm releasing this chapter a whole day early because I think you guys definitely deserve it, especially with all the support - thank you again!) I do have to focus on my projects, but once I'm off from finals, you bet there won't be longer wait periods like this one.
> 
> Until then! See you on 12/19! <3 
> 
> (And for those who live in the US, I hope you had a good Thanksgiving!)
> 
> \--
> 
> UPDATE 12/20/2020:
> 
> Hello all! I know I'm TERRIBLY late with getting the final chapter up (I'm so sorry about this!). I, unfortunately, had a work-conflict that I needed to take care of this week, so I have not been able to finish it. However, I have been writing since Friday and powering through the chapter. I am almost done, which is why I hope to have it up by at least Monday evening (12/21). 
> 
> Thank you so much for your patience, and I promise, the wait will be worth it! <3 See you then, and so sorry again!


	14. The Realm of Relix

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Turning his head back over to the Princess, he approached her and held a hand out to the woman. The Princess noticed this for a moment and stared at the hand, before nonchalantly, taking the hand where Demande’s fingers had laced around hers with a firm grip. With his attention directly on the Princess, he had reached to guide her hand that had held onto the Legendary crystal to bring to his mouth...
> 
> …and swallowed it.
> 
> The gesture was fatal, but it was one that would guarantee that no one would be able to form a portal to the Realm. In addition, a guarantee that he would have full control of the Princess, even if she had no access to the crystal. 
> 
> With his hand holding onto the door handle, the Dark Lord had opened the door, only for a portal to be present in front of the two. He had begun to make his way through the door, forcing the younger girl to follow just him through the portal, “Behold, Princess… The gateway to Relix opens before us…
> 
> …and when we step through, we will be face to face with everyone’s futures and pasts of the magic dimension.”

The corridors were grand. Long enough to go ahead miles away, which posed a threat for the fairies who were in the process of walking through them. Upon entering at first, there hadn’t been any major threats standing out - which led them to begin walking instead of flying, all while keeping their awareness on their radar.

In case there was to be an enemy, they had to be ready. It was too quiet, which hinted at a potential threat.

The entire time they walked, Elizabeta kept ahead while leading the group through. She already had enough experience going through the Dark Lord’s palace after the numerous times she’s broken into Shadow Haunt to rescue the Pixies. While she hasn’t directly been to the throne room, she assumed it was close to where the Pixies were once trapped when they were first kidnapped.

Everyone was absolutely silent as they walked. Monsters could rise from just the sounds of voices, so it was best to keep their presence as low in profile as possible. The Dark Lord could come out of anywhere - let alone, one of the witches.

However, the more they walked down the corridor, the radiating energy in the hallway immediately changed.

This was something Anneliese had managed to pick up. While she had been walking side by side with Tatyana and Florentyna, the girl found herself standing in place with her eyes widened upon a terrible feeling coming to her chest.

The instincts of a fairy were ones that could never be questioned. Especially in terms of her - she had learned to spot the difference in energy when they were in danger. It may not be visible to the other group, but the second she saw how dark the end of the hallway was, there was a pit in her stomach that brought extreme discomfort to the situation.

Her hesitation was noticed by Tatyana. It was at that point the silence was broken where the brunette approached the girl and placed a hand on her shoulder, “Hey,” She began, “Everything okay, Anneliese?”

Silence came from the girl when the question was asked. The second they stepped into Shadow Haunt, it was never going to be an okay experience. She knew this… And she knew that things were about to get worse if they were to keep going up head, “I-I’m okay,” She answered after a moment and looked at Tatyana; fear filling her eyes, “But my heart… there’s something down at the end of the corridor waiting for us, and it’s not good. We have to go another way.”

“Another way?” Elizabeta heard this from the front and paused on her walking. How else were they supposed to get to the throne room? She knew that this was the connecting hallway to get to where she last was when rescuing the Pixies, so they’d be able to find it easily, “We can’t, this is the only way I know—“

In the midst of her statement, a loud growl could be heard from the end of the hallway.

If that hadn’t been enough of confirmation to what Anneliese had been saying, then the sounds of footsteps beginning to make its way at their direction would’ve been.

“What was that?!” Florentyna blurted out in a panic and jumped into the air from being startled; flying midair while looking around frantically, “You guys heard that too, right?!”

“Florentyna, shh!!!” Monika had snapped at the other before jumping into the air herself, also startled as well.

With the sounds of their talking, however, it was enough for the footsteps to pick up in pace. The faster the footsteps became, the more surface of the ground began to shake violently, in addition, to begin cracking from the momentum. Whatever had been up ahead, it hadn’t been anything normal in size if it was enough to get the ground to start cracking.

It was at this point that the girls one by one had jumped into the air to avoid all contact with the ground as the cracks only increased. With the walls being connected to the ground, Tatyana couldn’t help but take notice of the sight of the walls beginning to crack as well, “The walls!” She shrieked before looking ahead where they were once walking in, before she officially saw what was ahead, “L-LOOK OUT!”

Loud roaring could be heard from the creature that had been up ahead, waiting for their arrival. The creature, which seemed to have been a demon, had been just about twenty feet in height. It had been wearing armor, as well as had a disgusting odor surrounding it. What was more concerning about it, was the fact that it had been holding onto what looked to be a giant ax, which was being swung at all of the fairies directions with the intentions of attacking it.

Tatyana’s warning though was enough for all of them to dodge away quickly, where the ax had immediately taken hit against the ground. The one-hit however was enough of an impact to get the ground to begin to shatter, leaving for the rubble and dirt underneath to rising.

“What the hell is that!?” Mei couldn’t help but blurt out while the monster seemed to be distracted pulling out its ax from the ground, “I’ve never seen a monster like that before!”

None of them knew the answer to it… Except, for one individual. Anneliese looked over at Mei with her eyes widened in horror while she slowly moved away from the direction of the monster, “…it’s the guardian of Shadow Haunt.” She began, “M-My mom used to tell me the Shadow Haunt story when I was misbehaving as a kid, and I didn’t think it was real!”

“Great,” Monika couldn’t help but begin nervously chuckling with pain in the back of her voice, “Good to know Natalya in the future did the same thing that all our parents did and tried to scare the shit out of us with those stories, when it was all warnings—“

The horrific stories that parents of the magical dimension would tell their children were ones that no one on Earth would ever hear. All of them were experienced with the horrific stories of Shadow Haunt and the Realm of Darkness when they were misbehaving as children, where they would be threatened to be sent there if they didn’t stop what they were doing that was bad. Based on the horror that came from Anneliese, it was enough of a confirmation for all of them that even their friend in the future — Natalya did not hesitate to be one of those parents as well.

There couldn’t be any wasting of time with them all standing there. The guardian was there to block them from accessing the throne room - which meant that they were close, as Elizabeta had predicted with being the one to lead them earlier.

Florentyna had held her hands up into the air where an orb of magic began to take shape in the palms of her hands. The monster was distracted with its ax, which meant it was the perfect time to strike. With her magic focused, she had launched her attack at the creature with one hand; the orb of magic flying right at the monster with the assumption it would land a hit…

…However, the second the monster had detected the attack, all it had done was pull its ax quickly out of the ground and used its blade to reflect the orb of magic against it, shooting it right back at Florentyna where instead of him, she took the hit with her own magic and went flying down to the ground.

“Florentyna!” Mei looked over at Florentyna and flew over in her direction to help the other up, which she already had begun to do so, “Are you okay?”

Coughing came from Florentyna at first when she took the hit. It was unexpected since she thought the monster would’ve been longer distracted by the ax by the time her magic hit, “Y-Yeah,” She cleared her throat, “I’m just shocked that it managed to attack back so quick—“

There was a bigger issue at hand now that the monster had his weapon fully in hand. Since they didn’t have an offensive strategy quite yet, Tatyana had flown in front of the monster with a serious expression to her face. She held both her hands out to her sides, before forming them into fists as the sight of light began to take shape in them. After a moment, she rose her hands up into the air, where light formed from the ground and vines immediately began to shoot up to wrap around the monster while the enchantment was said aloud, _“Resurgemus in vineis!"_

The vines quickly wrapped around the monster, securing him in place. Though with quick instinct, the ax that was in hand was used to slice the vines through, releasing the creature from the trap. Tatyana’s eyes widened in shock as this happened, clearly in disbelief, “H-How? I even drank one of my special elixirs to enhance my plants for this mission-!”

“Alright, my turn,” Mei flew down to the ground once Tatyana’s attack didn’t work before taking in a breath and placing two hands against the flat surface of the ground. She closed her eyes for a moment while she focused her energy into the spell, before looking right at the monster with her eyes glowing, _“Rhythm vibrations!”_

The ceiling above them began to violently shake. Her intention wasn’t to get the monster shaken up - but more or less, make the damage in the corridors to be a bit worse to the point where pieces of the ceiling had begun collapsing right on top of the monster…

…However, with each piece that had broken and hit right against the monster, it had shattered against it with no impact or effect.

Mei stood up and stopped the enchantment, confusion rising to her expression, “That’s impossible, that was a physical damage attack — and nothing happened to it?”

“Nothing is going to work against it, even if you use as much magic against it, it’s dark magic is more powerful than all of us here combined!” Anneliese had already been flying in the air at this point, “We need to run!”

Running was the only option at that point for all of them. As the proposal was made, one by one, each fairy had begun flying directly opposite to where they were once walking. This gave Monika the chance to observe the situation as she turned her head in the direction of the monster. Her eyes glew with power while she attempted to get a reading of its magical energy, “Anneliese is right, we can’t fight this thing, not at our levels,” She began, “The only way we can is if we were full-fledged guardian fairies, which we aren’t!”

With them running away, this did not work in the creature’s favor at all. An angered roar could be heard throughout the hallway as they flew off, which to the response of them running, he had immediately begun stomping against the ground over and over again… Resulting in not just the ground shaking, but the area surrounding them to all begin quaking from the motion.

Panicked screams could be heard from Mei, Florentyna, and Anneliese as this was done, while the others had focused on continuing to escape.

“GO!!!” Monika called out to the group, “Just fly as fast as you can-!”

_“Delandius!”_

_“Capinaius ilinoir!”_

New voices had filled the corridor, resulting in the group of fairies to stop flying and turn around to see what was going on.

To their shock, what they had been seeing, was one thing that they all hadn’t been expecting to see at all.

Standing in the middle of what looked to be six individuals, a fairy… Not just any fairy - but a guardian fairy, had been standing in between two other fairies, one witch, and two heroes in battle attire. The woman, who looked to be much older, stood there with her hands held out at the direction of the monster which had been screeching as the attacks were made. Her brunette hair had been long and reached down to her knees, while she wore a beautiful green, sparkling dress. Around her legs, what looked to be vines with jewels wrapped around her calves. Her hair had been curled, where a barrette in the shape of a symbol they all didn’t recognize had been pulling her hair back on its side.

Behind her as well, a beautiful, giant pair of wings were present that glistened in the light and radiated powerful magic.

It hadn’t been just one guardian fairy… But, three powerful guardian fairies, who looked equally as beautiful as the brunette whose back was turned to them. She and the witch had cast a spell on the monster, resulting in it being launched back hundreds of feet away and crash against the ground with what sounded like a small explosion.

However, this didn’t mean that the monster was down quite yet.

In the midst of the monster taking a moment to get up, this was when the guardian fairy in the middle had turned her head around to reveal herself; a large, relieved smile on her face, _“…Hello, ladies.”_

That was when they all had seen it. One by one, each person in the group that had teleported in front of them had been wearing what looked to be a gem attached to their attire. The one in the brunette’s hair, being one that Anneliese had found her eyes widening to upon recognizing what it symbolized…

…it was the symbol of the planet Sparx. Her mother’s home planet.

But as for the rest of the fairies, all of them were jaw dropped as in unison, they all said aloud, “HEADMISTRESS RADELLA!?”

The sight of it was absolutely shocking to them. All of them had never seen their Headmistress in such a beautiful form before. She always walked around Lenfia in business attire, being the educator that she was and always being professional with her students and colleagues.

But… She was standing there as a guardian fairy, right before their eyes. Not alone, however. There had been two other individuals as well - one of them being the Headmistress of the University of Dark Arts, Evanora, and the Headmaster of the University of Heroics and Bravery, Elijah.

The two other fairies and two other heroes were ones that they all didn’t recognize, but based on the symbol that they all wore to their attires, it all connected now.

“…The Company of Light…” Anneliese was the first to speak out in shock, which resulted in the rest of the fairies to look at her in confusion before she spoke again, “Y-You all are the Company of Light — T-The guardians of the magic dimension, right!? From Queen Alyona—“

Hearing the statement from the younger girl had a smile form on Radella’s face as this was said aloud. To her, it was indeed a good feeling to hear, as it was for the rest of the party, “Indeed we are, your highness.”

“It was an emergency case,” Evanora interrupted; lowering her hood where she had been holding onto a wand with a serious expression on her face. Even a witch, who was there to assist - it was all shocking for the fairies, “Even if we’ve all retired, we swore our oaths to the King and Queen of Sparx years ago that we would protect their children, and the Princess is in immortal danger.”

The formality that came from their Headmistress was absolutely shocking. None of the fairies had been used to it at all. If anything, Radella was a very welcoming woman, but she was always intimidating in terms of being an educator and teaching them the magic that they knew now. Let alone — they had never seen her in her true form as a fairy as well. It was an actual guardian fairy - one that radiated powerful magic to serve and protect the magic dimension.

It was all that they were in the process of training for. Radella, and the other two fairies that they didn’t recognize at all, being prime examples of what a final evolved fairy looked like.

All of this was star-striking to Anneliese, in a very good way indeed. She had grown up hearing about the Company of Light from a specific individual, that hadn’t been either of her parents. And now in her time, her parents were the new Company of Light… She had been told that the old Company of Light had retired years ago, even in that time era, they didn’t exist anymore.

What was with the sudden reunion?

“Okay, I have to admit,” Mei couldn’t help but to bring her hands up to her head, “If there’s one thing I’ve ever been glad about, it’s seeing our Deans—“

“Wow Mei,” Florentyna looked at the other with her eyes widened and brows rose with amusement, “I actually never imagined you saying that.”

The sounds of screeching could be heard from down the hallway. This was the cue for the guardians to look back at the monster, which was already beginning to rush towards them, “You ladies need to go, now,” Radella spoke before flying over to them and reaching into a satchel beside her hip.

In her hands, she had pulled out what looked to be five gems. She had handed the four gems to each fairy. One to Florentyna, one to Tatyana, one to Mei, one to Elizabeta, and one to Monika. Confusion arose on all of their expressions as they observed the items… Which they were beautiful at first glance.

Was it an important ancient artifact?

“You’ll need these… And for goodness sake, please do not lose them,” Radella’s tone of voice was serious while she made eye contact with each girl - including Anneliese herself, “This is an emergency key to the Realm of Relix - only entrusted by Queen Alyona herself in case someone has accessed the portal. Use this to enter, rescue Natalya, and get out of there immediately.” ****

“We’ll take care of the monster here as well,” Evanora followed up with the explanation as she stared up at the monster; keeping her distance away all while having her hands out in defense, “Now go!”

The demand was clear to all of them. As Evanora had told them to go off with the gems, each fairy indeed holding onto each piece securely in their grasps all while flying off. No one had any idea of what the gems were - but if it was the key to opening up the realm for their end, they couldn’t lose the pieces.

As they all flew off opposite in the direction of where the guardians had been, the hallways were silent once more. However, there had been creaking sounds echoing from more down the hallway in response to the battle that had been taking place behind them.

Getting closer and closer to the end of the hallway, that was when the group had been exposed to it.

The sounds of growling could be heard.

At the end of the hallway, two creatures had slowly begun to take shape inside. These creatures which had been demons of the Dark Lord rose into a loud screeching, as their mouths that were sharp and covered in drool could be seen. They had no eyes, but they did have sharp claws, as well as were bigger in comparison to the group.

“Oh great!” Florentyna’s hands were in fists as she stopped going ahead and lowered herself to the ground; looking at the sight of the creatures, “What do we do now!?”

It was an issue that was blocking them from reaching the portal. The creatures continuing to rise up was very expected in the situation, especially if the Dark Lord was aware of their presence in the first place. He had to make all precautions to make sure that the ‘intruders’ didn’t succeed in managing to find him with the Princess.

That was when one of the group members took a breath and stepped forward.

Monika held a hand in front of Florentyna, almost as if she were denying her from taking a step forward. As she did so, she looked up at the monsters, then at the group, “You guys go on ahead. I’ll take care of these two. Just go through the other corridor.”

“You’re going to fight them all by yourself?” Mei spoke out of concern immediately at the proposal.

However, Monika held a hand out to stop her from doing anything before taking in a breath, “I got this. Don’t worry about me. Just go find Natalya before it’s too late.”

As the creatures took a step closer to the fairies, their mouths had opened wide to release loud screeching. The screeches had been loud enough to have some of the group cover their ears in response, though for Monika, she had jumped into the air and held her hands out as magic glew from them.

She didn’t hesitate again to say it, “Go, now!”

“Okay okay!” Florentyna began in a panicked tone of voice before turning herself around, in addition to the rest of the group following, “J-Just be careful!”

One by one, each fairy had gone flying off the opposite direction of where Monika was and took a right in one of the hallways of the corridors. If they were to continue going back, they would end up in the battle where the rest of the guardians were. If they stayed with Monika, she would’ve been mad. There had to have been another escape route, so any open hallway was an opportunity.

For Monika, it was perfect now that they were gone. There had been a reason why she hadn't want them where, which firstly began with her lowering herself down to the ground as a large smirk grew to her lips. The magic that had been in her hands suddenly sparked with energy, to the point where it looked like sparks of lightning had been growing from them.

With her hand slammed down against the ground, suddenly, the floor was electric. Electric to the point where its bolts had traveled to the creatures through their feet, immediately electrocuting them on the spot while she jumped into the air. She held her hands over the spot she had touched; maintaining her magical energy into the enchantment until each creature dropped dead.

If the group hadn’t left, they would’ve been electrocuted easily.

Flying down the new hallway for the group seemed to have been the right route to have taken. Florentyna, Mei, Tatyana, Elizabeta, and Anneliese found themselves in a frenzy at first, but things seemed to have calmed down since escaping. Yet, there remained that lingering, mutual feeling at the idea of how the guardians and Monika were off fighting.

While their thoughts rose to fruition, this did not stop the sounds of creatures growing loud in volume in front of them.

Another indicator that they were in trouble, again.

At the end of the hallway, there had been a door. The door had been grand and large - almost similar to the sight of a throne room of a palace. Could it perhaps have been the gate to the Dark Lord’s throne?

The issue was that as the group arrived more closer to the door, dark shadows pooled underneath their feet. Within seconds, three larger creatures - bigger in comparison to the ones that Monika had been facing - slowly began to rise and make a presence. The dark creature’s mouths had been large with sharp teeth, as well as had claws that could kill anyone with one hit.

The stench surrounding the creatures was also horrendous, to the point where even Florentyna couldn’t help but cover her mouth and nose before exclaiming, “Oh, come on!”

It was bad.

Stumbled back, the group kept their distance from the monsters that screeched louder as seconds passed. That was when an idea had formed in one fairy’s head.

Encouraged by Monika after seeing her bravery at the moment, Mei had taken a step forward before looking at the group, “Okay okay, here’s my idea.” She began with her hands in fists, “Tatyana and I, we’ll stay and handle these monsters. Florentyna, Elizabeta, and Anneliese - you guys go find Natalya.”

Another proposal for separation. Tatyana looked over at Mei with her eyes widened. While she didn’t mind fighting the creatures, panic formed on her expression, “Are you sure it’s a good idea that we split again?”

“We don’t have a choice,” Mei began, turning her expression to the other with a frown, “The Dark Lord set up these creatures as a distraction to give him more time to execute his plan. We can’t afford to waste any more time, so it’s in the best nature that we split and catch up after.”

It was an argument that couldn’t be disputed. Even Florentyna and Elizabeta knew that the other was right - they couldn’t waste any more time.

Without even taking a second to try and change the other’s mind, Elizabeta, Florentyna, and Anneliese had jumped into the air. Elizabeta looked down at Mei and Tatyana, giving them a reassuring thumbs-up, “You guys got this. We’re heading in.”

Nods came from both Mei and Tatyana. Once the fairies that were in the air were in position, the two of them went charging at the monsters on the ground as a form of distraction to allow the group to get past the door.

Mei clasped her hands together for a moment before taking in a breath to connect with her power. As her hands were pulled apart, what looked like a band of magic had formed in her hands, before she had launched the band around the three monsters to be inserted into their ears.

The creatures screeched in response to the magic suddenly making contact with them. Tatyana knew this was her turn to go, before hovering her arms over her chest in a cross as bright magic filled the palms of her hands. Raising both hands up into the air, within seconds, what looked to be large vines shot through the rubble of the ground to trap the monsters. Her eyes glew of magic as she shouted the enchantment, “ _Vines of life!”_

The vines immediately grew from the ground. As they grew in size, the vines latched immediately around the creatures by wrapping around their legs multiple times to keep them restrained. This was where Tatyana had looked over at Mei to give her a cue. Mei exchanged eye contact with the other and nodded, before snapping her fingers…

…only for a loud, powerful blast of sharp music to fill through the creature's ears.

Within seconds, the creatures had released loud screeches before their heads had exploded on the site. Both fairies had taken cover from this to not make any contact with the remains of the creatures, which within seconds, began to dissolve into thin air.

However, as the remains dissolved, this did not stop the fact that more creatures had continued to rise from the ground.

“More trouble…” Mei couldn’t help but chuckle to herself while wiping her forehead with the back of her hand, “Great. It’s going to be a while until we can catch up.”

For Florentyna, Elizabeta, and Anneliese - entering the throne room with the monsters left outside for Tatyana and Mei to take care of was met with the expectation to find more monsters inside.

To all of their surprise, there was nothing in the throne room. Only a throne and table remained present at the end of the room, with no presence of Natalya or even the Dark Lord made at all.

“Are we too late?” Florentyna broke the silence as she looked around, observing the area. The throne room was grand — yet, painfully dark to the point where she found herself uncomfortable. Seeing that there was nothing, she figured them being too late was the case, “Now what?”

There was no way to go after the Dark Lord and Natalya… However, for one of the group members, Anneliese had remembered something in particular. She looked over at Florentyna and Elizabeta, “Do you guys still have the gems from Radella?”

“Of course I do,” Florentyna snapped her fingers before the said gem that was given to her appeared.

The issue was, there was only one gem.

“…Uhm.” Elizabeta slowly turned over to Florentyna with concern brought to her expression, “Wasn’t there four pieces?”

A long pause came from Florentyna as this was said. As she processed it at the moment, that was when she began to remember. The party had split because they needed to hurry and get to Natalya… One piece was with Monika, while the other two pieces were with Mei and Tatyana.

It was at that moment that she knew, they were in a bad position.

“Son of a-!” Florentyna slammed her foot against the ground before bringing her hands up to her head, “Great! Now we don’t have a way into the Realm fo Relix unless we go back and waste more time! It could be too late for all we know-!”

Too late… No, it wasn’t too late. Anneliese knew this, but under the circumstances that they were in, she didn’t know if this would be an option for her or not.

To open the time and space portal, it could only be done once with the Codex after a long period of time. She didn’t know how long, but she knew that in her situation, there was a way to open up the portal.

“…I can open us a portal.” Her voice was soft, yet hesitant, which resulted in both the fairies to look over at Anneliese in confusion.

“How?” Elizabeta questioned since there was no possible way. The only way that they could get in was through the codex or the artifacts that Radella had left them with. Now that they were limited with their options, the only choice was to go back and get the pieces in hopes that they weren’t too late.

Anneliese took a step forward from between the two fairies and held out her hands. She took in a breath, focusing on her magical energy as a bright light began to take shape in front of her. All it took was a few seconds, before in front of her, what looked to be four pieces…

…of the codex, right in front of her.

Shock formed from both Elizabeta and Florentyna at the moment. The things as that there was a way that she was able to travel into the past… And this was because she was given the future’s version of the codex directly from her father. She only had two uses on it - one to get herself there, and one to get herself back.

But now, she was in the position of if they wanted to stop and save Natalya, she would have to take that risk.

It was something she learned growing up… That in life, there were risks that any guardian fairy and hero had to take. They may not like it, but this was the route they had to go.

This risk would be whether or not she’d make it home.

She rose her hand as the four pieces of the codex had formed into what looked to be a rectangle. All it took was a few seconds before she had cast the spell, speaking in a loud and clear, tone of voice, “ _Open the gates to the Realm of Relix!”_

A bright light flashed in front of the group. The light had been very bright to the point where Florentyna and Tatyana had shielded their eyes from the sight. Though as they lowered their arms after, they were greeted to the sight of a door. The door was beautiful on sight and radiated powerful energy from it.

The issue was that as Anneliese backed away, she figured that this would be enough…

…But then she had remembered, there was a key. A key that they did not have at all.

Despite her frustration at the moment, this didn’t stop Florentyna from approaching the other and placing a hand on her shoulder, “How did you do that?”

Anneliese turned to face the other, her frown present on her expression as she looked back at the door, “Remember what my dad said earlier? He gave me the pieces of the codex, so I can open the Realm of Relix… The issue is that… Well,” She frowned and looked at the door, “I can open the portal, but there’s a key… And the key is twenty years into the future with the true legendary.”

“Are you saying that the Legendary is the key to open it?” Elizabeta had asked for clarification.

“Yeah,” Anneliese sighed for a moment, “That’s why the Dark Lord was eager for Natalya… He may have had the pieces of the codex, but the Legendary is the true key to opening it all. The only way I was able to travel into the past was to figure out a puzzle.”

“A puzzle?” Both Elizabeta and Florentyna questioned in unison.

In the midst of her explanation, Anneliese found herself pausing upon noticing something on the door. There had been a pattern placed out in front of the door in multiple colors - this being a puzzle that they had to figure out in order to open the door. And so, she continued her explanation, “The puzzle changes from time to time,” She explained, “The last puzzle I had to do required me to figure out a riddle… but I guess this riddle is something to do with colors.”

“Great, love that we’re wasting even more time,” Elizabeta sighed and crossed her arms. Just looking at the puzzle, she had no idea where, to begin with figuring it out.

Though for Florentyna, she remained silent as she observed the details of the puzzle. Each piece had been six colors… Red, green, blue, yellow, purple, and white. It all connected into one piece, which meant it would serve as the key to the portal.

“Hey Liz, remember what we learned in second-year seminar about the different civilizations of fairies?” As Florentyna said this, Elizabeta and Anneliese looked at the other with questioning looks on their faces. This was where Florentyna had reached for the first rectangle and began to set up the colors into a pattern, “There was a civilization that spoke with colors in their realm. They used hues and patterns to communicate…” She had moved the last piece of the puzzle to what looked to be a patterned rectangle, “Like… that.”

“How is this even relevant?” Elizabeta responded to the question, though just before she could get herself an answer, a bright light had formed in front of Florentyna.

The puzzle, which had begun to dim in light after a few seconds, suddenly had turned into what looked to be a key. The key with no hesitation flew towards the direction of the keyhole connected to the door, twisted automatically open before a small creek could be heard with the door opening.

“Y-You did it!” Anneliese gasped in shock while bringing her hands to her face, “The last time I did the riddle, it took me like a good hour to figure it out!”

Florentyna blinked for a moment upon the discovery of what she had done. Seeing that the door was open, she couldn’t help but to laugh to herself before turning to face the others, “Welp! I guess Natty was right - paying attention in class _does_ help you!”

“Enough of that, we’ll tell her later that you actually studied,” Elizabeta blurted out in almost a hurried, panicked tone before rushing over to the door. This time, grabbing onto both Anneliese and Florentyna’s wrists to drag them through the portal immediately, “We need to get going, let’s go!”

One by one, going inside the portal had been a new experience for all of them. The fact that the time and space portal had existed in the first place and no magical being was allowed to be inside it in the first place, it was a new experience that history was being made at the moment.

While they were just entering the portal, for those who had entered the portal earlier, things were only at the beginning.

Since entering the portal, both the Dark Lord and Natalya had been greeted to the sight of nothingness. Only a long road was present, with a multitude of mirrors that reflected specific time periods. As any magical being was to pass by a mirror, it reflected their current physical state of what was taken place in that time…

And the Dark Lord, in particular, had been searching for the era of the future. The future that would allow for him to complete his main mission of not only seizing the Princess but having full control of the dragon flame and heart of ice through her.

Twenty years into the future was a long road that they hadn’t expected. The entire time as the Dark Lord searched, the fairy who was silent continued to lead in front of him as her head risen while observing the different areas of the portal.

For the first time, even if she hadn’t been spelled - Natalya had never been in a portal before. Unless the magical reality chamber back at Lenfia had counted as a portal to different realms, the fact that she was in one that revolved around the manipulation of time - it was a new experience.

While their walk had just begun through time, this was only the beginning for Florentyna, Elizabeta, and Anneliese to begin catching up in the scene. Within seconds of entering the portal, the three fairies had neglected the mirrors and straight away went in the direction upwards of the road in hopes to find the Dark Lord and Natalya.

And with how quick they had forced themselves through the portal, it wasn’t long until the culprit was found.

They needed to stop them. It seemed that the Dark Lord hadn’t realized they made their way into the portal, which was their cue to launch an attack.No one could see Natalya in front of him, which allowed Florentyna the time to hold her hands up in the direction of the demon feet away from them, _“Solar ray!”_

An orb of light had shot from the palms of her hand to go flying right at the Dark Lord’s back. Unaware of the situation, the Dark Lord who had been focused ahead, was hit with the magic. He had immediately gone flying to the ground, which then and there, resulted in the Princess who had been walking to stop and slowly turn herself around.

The sight of the Dark Lord going down temporarily was a relief to the three fairies on the rescue, but when making eye contact with the fairy ahead - that was when the horror began to settle in.

It was a form of Natalya that they were all familiar with. It was almost similar to the time they had witnessed her take on the Shadow Virus and had been spelled into giving a piece of the Codex to Gelinda…

…That was when they remembered, this was what the Shadow Virus was. This would be the time to attempt getting it out of her body, as their futures all depended on it in the situation.

“Oh my god…” Elizabeta swallowed nervously at the sight of the form, “That’s… not Natalya…”

“It is,” Anneliese interrupted the other while keeping her distance, “It’s the Shadow Virus spell. He’s recast it on her.”

Natalya however, remained completely unphased when the Dark Lord had taken the hit. Instead of fighting back, all she had done was kneel down to help the man up, who looked angered as he shot his head over to the three fairies that had gotten in.

“How!?” Were the first words that barked from him. It was impossible - there was only one key to the Realm of Relix. There was never a second key, so how would it have been possible for them to get in?

No, he shouldn’t worry about them. There was a mission that had to be taken care of, which soon had him look at the fairy who had helped him up, “Go on ahead, Princess. I’ll destroy these rats.”

The demand was loud and clear. Instead of even nodding or responding, Natalya had simply let go of the Dark Lord and continued walking ahed on the road. Her walking was slow, but she did listen while continuing on ahead.

With her attempting to leave the scene though, this didn’t stop the three fairies from calling out to her. Florentyna had been the first, practically yelling out to the other in order to catch her attention, “Natalya, it’s us!!! You’re under a spell, snap out of it!”

“How adorable, you think your cries will be enough to break Natasha out of my spell…” The Dark Lord chuckled underneath his breath while taking a few steps towards the three fairies. He glared at each of them; a snarling smirk forming along his lips as he did so, “…Unfortunately ladies, the spell is unbreakable.”

“If that’s the case,” Elizabeta lowered herself to the ground with her hands into fists, “We’re going to make _you_ unbreak it then.”

More laughter erupted from the Dark Lord upon hearing this. The typical fairy response - it wasn’t surprising at all. Fairies coming into action with requests or demands that didn’t seem logical at all to the enemy’s favor. To him, it sounded like nonsense coming from talking trash, “My apologies, Princess Elizabeta,” He looked at the girl, his grin continuing to grow since he knew _exactly_ who she was, “But I believe Natasha’s darker form suits her much better… Such a shame you wouldn’t allow for your Pixies to become my pets as well.”

All it took was one snap of his fingers for shadows to immediately fill the area. It was an unexpected attack for all of them - that immediately, Florentyna had panicked and clasped her hands together to form a bright orb of light in the form of a miniature sun.

That was when they were all beginning to notice it. On the ground of the road, what looked to be a sticky, dark hue substance began to rose form the ground underneath them. For Florentyna and Anneliese who were in the air, they weren’t impacted. However, Elizabeta had seemed to have been the prime target seeing that she had made contact with the ground.

“Elizabeta!” Florentyna shrieked, “Get into the air, quick-!”

Alas, for it was too late.

Elizabeta looked down at the ground where the sticky substance had made contact with her boots. Her eyes widened as she attempted to move her feet, which doing so was enough to have to lose her balance and fall to the ground. Falling to the ground had been the bigger issue since now, she had made herself vulnerable to the substance to where it was holding her restrained to the ground.

The darkness and the sticky substance wasn’t just the only thing the Dark Lord had in store.

_“Loviaunus arovianus osossa!”_

The voice of the demon filled the air, which was another hint of an attack that was to be made. Anneliese’s eyes widened in reaction to what he had been doing before she immediately flew down toward Elizabeta and held her arms out. Within seconds, what seemed to be a barrier formed around both of them, where she could immediately see the magic being launched in their direction, _“Protectus!”_ She had screamed out in a panic, watching as her barrier had blocked the attack.

The Dark Lord was trying to trap them. That was it. If he had them trapped, he would be able to make no mistake by hitting them with his attacks.

“I can’t… move!” Elizabeta grunted while attempting to move her body. She didn’t know what to do. As the light in the portal began to pick back up from Florentyna’s spell, that was when she had seen it.

The Dark Lord, who was now lingering over her and Anneliese specifically.

“You _thought_ you could take me down so easily?” The demon spoke to the two of them, his laughter continuing to reign in the air, “I’ll finish you all of you off, starting…” He looked right at Anneliese, “With _you.”_

As this was said, all it took was one kick of the Dark Lord’s foot for the barrier that the younger fairy had put around Elizabeta to break. It was enough to make her vulnerable, and easy for the demon to reach over and grab the girl by the throat, slowly lifting her into the air.

“No!” Florentyna had immediately noticed this, only to clasp her hands together once more where an orb of magic had formed in between them. She immediately flew behind the demon to avoid hitting Anneliese, before launching the attack by throwing the orb of magic from her hands, “Let go of her!”

With how swift in motion Florentyna was, this hadn’t been enough time for the demon to react. He turned around, which as he did so, he had taken the hit from the magic. The younger fairy that was once in his grasp was immediately dropped before the one-hit had been enough to get the Dark Lord to vanish on the spot.

Florentyna flew there midair; confusion plastered on her face. There was no way that one hit was enough to take the Dark Lord out. But for now, she flew down to Anneliese who had been holding onto her throat with fear brought to her expression, “Are you okay!?”

“Y-Yeah,” Anneliese swallowed nervously and looked up ahead, only to make direct eye contact with the darker fairy that had been standing in place, not even moving, “Thanks, Florentyna…”

With the Dark Lord being gone, it allowed for the sticky substance that had kept Elizabeta trapped to fade away. Once she had managed to break the grasp of it, she had jumped into the air; rubbing her arms in disgust while looking around, “He’s gone?”

“I don’t know,” Florentyna responded at that point and lowered herself to the ground since now it seemed to be safe, “I guess we got him?”

“One problem down, but what are we going to do about Natalya?” Elizabeta kept her eyes focused on the blonde feet ahead of them. The entire time, it looked like Natalya had been standing there doing absolutely nothing… Could there be a chance with the attack on the Dark Lord, they were able to break the spell out of her?

The thing was that even at a far enough distance, this didn’t stop the fact that she could hear them.

A large smirk formed on Natalya’s lips at the question before her silence was broken. The fairy, who had taken a step towards the three other fairies, simply snapped her fingers before what looked to be a sheet of ice began to form underneath their feet.

That was part of the plan. With the Dark Lord disappearing, the only words she was left with had been in her head from him.

_Wait until they’re on their feet._

The ice formed underneath Elizabeta, Florentyna, and Anneliese’s feet, to the point where it began to grow up their ankles. It was another trap that they hadn’t expected, which resulted in Florentyna to call out, “Natalya, snap out of it! It’s us!”

“…You thought you could get rid of the Dark Lord?”

Her silence being broken was all horrifying to the three fairies. It was as if they were in the presence of not the person that they knew - but indeed, the puppet that the Dark Lord had created with her physical form.

As this was said, Natalya held her hands out to her sides, where magic had formed in the palms of her hands. All it took was for the magic to be thrown right around the three individuals before what looked to be a circle of flames surrounded them. A small chuckle erupted from the woman before she snapped her fingers, “What a shame,” She continued, “Too bad he pulled a silly joke on you.”

A joke?

Just as the woman explained, all it took was for the snap of her fingers for what looked to be a dark shadow to form in front of her. The shadow, which had taken on the shape of a human immediately stepped out from it… Where once again, the group was greeted by the familiar face of the demon that they thought Florentyna had gotten rid of.

It was a trick - a trick pulled by the Dark Lord to get them trapped.

Which under the position they were in, with the ice trapping their feet and the circle of fire surrounding them…

…How were they supposed to get out?

* * *

Looking down at the remains of the creatures that had once been standing in front of her, Monika lowered herself down to the ground with a small pant. She didn’t expect fighting all of the monsters to drain her energy, but the fact that she was able to take them all by herself - it was a rewarding feeling, to say the least.

She brought the back of her hand towards her forehead to wipe off any sweat that had been present. As she did so, she took in a breath and looked around to see if there were any other lingering monsters nearby, “Damn… At least that’s taken care of.”

In the midst of her talking to herself, she picked up the sound of footsteps up ahead. More monsters? No, that couldn’t be, she was way too tired, that at that point she considered running at first…

…But with how louder the footsteps were, would running be a feasible thing?

“Round two, alright alright…” She held herself in a battle position, waiting for whoever had been approaching her to step forward.

That was when she realized it hadn’t been some footsteps - it was a group of footsteps. Not loud ones either, but ones that would be part of… People, if they were running?

She began to notice four figures up ahead of her, all seeming to carry equipment meant for battle. This had Monika hold herself back before calling out to the group she now recognized ahead of her, “Hey, _quad-doofuses!_ Over here!”

The voice that had come from the down of the hallway startled the four men that had managed to make their way into the palace. The voice, which was specially recognized by Gilbert of the party, found himself raise a brow as he walked towards the voice with Alfred, Mathias, and Antonio, who followed just behind. It was upon noticing the pair of wings and short blonde hair that had belonged to one fairy, that was when relief settled in.

“Yo, Monika!” Gilbert couldn’t help but chuckle slightly in relief, “You’re here?”

“…four doofuses?” Mathias couldn’t help but whisper under his breath, “Really? That’s all she got?”

Alas, the muttering wasn’t paid attention to by Monika. Instead, she had looked at the group and let out a nervous chuckle herself, “Well, if there’s one thing I’m glad to see, it’s all you four and no more monsters.”

“Where’s the rest of the party?” Alfred interrupted after a moment. In his hand, he had been holding onto a sword while looking over at Monika.

“We split,” Monika answered simply, though when she had said this and noticed the horror beginning to build upon all of their expressions - since splitting up was never a good idea - she held out her hands in defense, “Wait, wait! Before you all start on me, it was either we stay back here and fight monsters that the Dark Lord set up to distract us, or a few of us go ahead and try to catch up to him before it’s too late. I volunteered to stay and took care of it, the rest is up ahead.”

It was an understanding reason for the fairy. One that not even Mathias and Antonio could argue with as they looked over at Gilbert who looked annoyed, but also Alfred who had his hands in fists. In dire situations such as that one, where they had no idea where they were going and traps placed out everywhere in the palace, silently it was agreed to not question what Monika was explaining.

“They should be at the throne room by now,” Monika turned herself around from the group, jumping into the air so she wouldn’t waste any more time just standing there, “Come on, we need to get going right now,”

With not having any direction of where to go in the palace, seeing that the Dark Lord’s kingdom was big, the group of heroes nodded in mutual agreement to the claim before following just behind Monika. While she didn’t know where she was going, she did keep in mind the directions she was in earlier before monsters had spawned in the area. She did also see where the rest of the fairies had gone flying off since splitting from her, and so, she followed the exact direction.

In the midst of Monika and the heroes making their way to the throne room, a battle just outside the doors had managed to come to its end as well.

With the previous spell of Mei and Tatyana combining their powers, the second wave of monsters that had risen since their first battle had resulted in their decay. Both of the fairies had lowered themselves to the ground, panting heavily to catch their breath from the amount of magical energy they had to use in order to take on the battles.

Tatyana, who instead of focusing on the situation at hand, looked over at Mei with concern to her expression, “You okay?”

“Yeah… Whoa.” Mei rubbed her head for a moment while observing the scene in front of the throne room doors. The monsters that were once standing there before defeat slowly began to turn into dust. Faded from existence - to the point of where they were part of the air now, “Just kind of feel bad, but it’s whatever.”

Hearing the mentioning of feeling bad resulted in Tatyana to let out a small amount of laughter, since she hadn’t been expecting that response from the other, “Well dear, just know that they were never meant to exist anyway. You just took it a step further.”

“Wow,” Mei looked over at the other, a bit of amusement brought to her expression, “And here I thought the innocent, sweet Tatyana wasn’t ever an act,”

A smile formed on Tatyana’s lips. While she was indeed known around her friends as the more gentle and shyer of the group, she did have a bit of a savage personality as needed, “Call it Florentyna corrupting my poor head,” She rubbed the back of her head, “But we should start heading in, I’m really worried about Florentyna, Elizabeta and Anneliese—“

Her sentence was interrupted upon hearing the sounds of footsteps running in their direction filling her ears. Quickly, the fairy had turned herself around in a panic; fear filling her face at the thought of having to take on a third round of monsters potentially charging at them.

However, as the footsteps became louder and the sight of figures ahead began to take shape for both Tatyana and Mei, the fear immediately faded away.

“Oh whoa, perfect timing!” Mei couldn’t help but call out to the group, waving her arms at their direction to catch their attentions, “Over here!”

The four heroes, in addition to Monika, had immediately spotted the two fairies down the hallway. Just as Monika had suspected, the group did go in the direction she had seen. Her curiosity did peak though upon noticing that it was just Mei and Tatyana — where were the others?

“Hey,” Monika lowered herself to the ground and looked at Mei and Tatyana in confusion, “What happened to the rest—“

“They went ahead,” Mei interrupted with no hesitation since she could tell right away that the other was confused, “The same situation. More monsters rose up, I volunteered with Tatyana to stay back.”

“Really?” Gilbert looked over at Monika, only to playfully hit his younger sister on the shoulder which resulted in the girl glare right at him, “Don’t you ever watch movies? About how bad of an idea it is to split up—“

“Oh shut your trap, arguing isn’t going to get us anywhere right now,” Mei interrupted, resulting in a small amount of laughter to erupt from Tatyana since she had found the situation a bit funny, “We’ll have the splitting up with your group debate later. Right now, we need to go.”

That was all the group needed to hear, especially Alfred, who had already walked towards the doors of the throne room to push them open, “Best words that I’ve heard this entire mission,” He responded, before holding his hand out to the group so they could wait a moment. He inspected the area with his eyes - only to make sure there hadn’t been any enemies present, before leading them all in, “All clear. The only thing that’s in here are thrones, a chair, and some sort of door.”

“You think that may be the portal to the realm?” Monika spoke as she walked beside Alfred towards the door, which at first glance, all of them couldn’t help but notice the beautiful designs as part of the door. Just its entrance radiated powerful magic, which was a clear indicator that the portal that laid in front of them, was much more powerful than it seemed.

“Well, with how powerful it looks, I’m pretty sure,” Alfred responded before pressing a button on the sword he had been using. He then slid the handle of the sword into a belt he had been wearing as part of his gear so he could have his hands free. For a moment, he took a breath before reaching for the door handle to twist it open. He hadn’t even pushed the door open, as with the one twist of the handle, the door had opened by itself to them.

The large group now, being greeted to the sight of what looked to be a long road with a plentiful of mirrors.

The Realm of Relix was a place that none had known of its existence before the situation at hand that was taking place. The time and space portal, that if any magical being were to enter it, they could travel throughout time in the magic dimension for either good or evil. Each mirror, resembling a specific time period that if one person were to enter, they would be transported then and there.

With no hesitation, Alfred had been the first to walk through the portal with a flash of light. Followed just behind him, one by one, being the remainder of the group until all of them had been transported to the long road of the portal.

At the end of the long road, being a sight that they all indeed weren’t expecting to see.

The Dark Lord, who had been looking at Florentyna, Elizabeta, and Anneliese trapped within his grasp… It was all going well into his plan.

The issue for him was that he hadn’t been thinking too clearly about the situation.

“It’s impossible for you all to fight the powers of the Dragon Flame and Heart of Ice under my control…” He began, his voice loud and clear while glaring at the trapped fairies, “You just may as well perish by my hand instead standing there thinking you can do something.”

Thinking that they could do something…

…Well, there was one thing that perhaps Elizabeta and Florentyna couldn’t do yet, but Anneliese knew that she could.

And even at these words, the younger girl began to laugh.

It was a laughter that seemed very innocent at the moment, that both Florentyna and Elizabeta found themselves staring at the younger girl in confusion. The Dark Lord grew annoyed at the sight of Anneliese suddenly bursting into laughter, which had his growl lowly under his tongue before snapping at the girl, “ _Silence!”_

His loud voice had resulted in a gust of wind to hit against the fairies, resulting in a groan from Elizabeta and a panicked shriek from Florentyna.

“Anneliese!” Florentyna called out to the other, “What are you doing?”

The thing was that despite being under the trap, Anneliese wiped her eye just a bit, “Sorry, sorry. It’s just, I’ve heard so much stupider jokes than that. Really, wouldn’t the supposed ‘Ruler of Darkness’ have better jokes than that? Or is he too stupid to realize how dumb he looks?”

Dropped jaws were given in response by Elizabeta and Florentyna at that statement. Even the demon, who was glaring daggers at the younger fairy approached the younger girl, “…I beg your pardon?”

“You said you have full control of the Dragon Flame and Heart of Ice,” As Anneliese responded to the demon, in her hands, all it had taken was one snap of her fingers for what looked to be a broken crystal to form in between her index and middle finger. It was a crystal that everyone had recognized right away, which even the Dark Lord, found his eyes widen in realization at how she was holding it. And so, the girl continued.

_“…you can have control of the guardian, but my grandmother said you can never take the power from who can use it.”_

Quickly, the younger girl had snapped her fingers as a bright light had formed around herself, Elizabeta, and Florentyna. The light that came from the crystal, radiated a powerful amount of energy despite its broken state. Within seconds, the ice that had kept them trapped, in addition to the fire circling them had disappeared, leaving them completely intact and unharmed.

“You’re going to give back the broken piece of the Legendary to who it _really_ belongs to, Demande.” Anneliese had finished her statement as the demon, who was horrified at the sight, took a step back in the realization of how she knew how to use the crystal and his true name, “And I’m going to help you with that.”

In the midst of her sentence, the younger fairy had jumped into the air now that she was free. She looked at the crystal once more and took in a breath, before looking over at Natalya who had been staring in the silence at the scene that was taking place. Anneliese smiled, before pulling her arm back to throw over her head; the crystal flying feet ahead to where Natalya had been standing, “Natalya, catch!”

One hand had immediately shot up into the air the second the crystal had been thrown. It was out of pure instinct of the moment when seeing the crystal fly at her direction, which to Natalya, everything had been a blank state in her mind. She swore she had recognized the voice and face of who had been calling out to her, but she had no idea at the same time.

What the woman did know, however, was upon making contact with the crystal, she paused for a moment as the Dark Lord turned to face her. She was silent the entire time, which as she opened her hands to look at the crystal…

…She stared at it. For a long time, in silence, observing the detail of the crystal.

It looked beautiful even if broken. The power that it radiated showed a sense of dominance and reassurance to her… But in its broken state, it felt like its missing piece was preventing it from accomplishing its true power. Its diamond shape and how it shined in the palms of her hands - it was indescribable.

Despite the fairy being occupied by the crystal, the Dark Lord hadn’t been finished yet with his task. His hands were in fists, clearly, his sign of anger beginning to catch up to him. How could she have used the crystal? It was impossible - only the heirs of the Dragon Flame and Heart of Ice could use it… The only heir in that time period was Natasha herself, so how could this girl show up and suddenly be able to use it?

Rather than question it, he paused for a moment and turned back to look at Natalya. No, this could work in his favor quite well. The Princess was under his control, which meant that with one demand, he could make her give him the piece to him in order to have full control of the Legendary, “…Well well, thank you little fairy, for making my mission of having the full Legendary much easier within my grasp,” He chuckled, “But a little fairy alone like you isn’t going to stop me from obtaining control of this dimension.”

_“Who said she was alone?”_

His next sentence was immediately paused upon hearing the new voices. As he heard this, the Dark Lord had looked behind the three fairies in front of him, only to be greeted to the sight of the group of fairies and heroes that had made their way over from the entrance of the portal. Elizabeta, Florentyna, and Anneliese had all turned their heads in response to the arrival of the group.

As the voice was said, it was immediately recognized as Alfred’s as he took a step forward; his blade drawn out once again while pointing directly to the demon. His expression was dark and serious, almost as if there were no more games to be played around in the situation, “We’re putting an end to this,” He snapped, “Right here, right now.”

“…How marvelous.” Hearing these words had the demon slowly crack his neck to each side, glaring right at the male who dared to question him, “Unfortunately, an end is no where in sight for you all.” With one hand raised, he had pointed it over toward the direction of the group as shadows were cast right at all of their directions.

The shadows, which had been something no one had been expecting, resulted in Alfred to look at the group, “Dodge!”

The reaction speed had to have been quick with the attack. For those who were closer, they were all first to take the hit, including Florentyna and Anneliese, who had all shrieked in panic as they were locked down to the surface of the ground. Then the shadows had reached the second half of the group, primarily hitting Alfred and Antonio, as well as for Monika and Tatyana to the ground.

The shot call though was enough for Gilbert, Mathias, Elizabeta, and Mei to avoid the hit, where they had dodged away from the shadows that were cast - barely escaping the trap.

“I can’t get up!” Monika couldn’t help but groan out while attempting to push herself up. The more she pushed up, the more she was pushed down by the shadows, “It’s some sort of dark spell-!”

“A dark spell that no fairy can break out of,” With his hands held out, dark magic filled the palms of his hands before his eyes grew in dark shadows as well, “Which is where I’ll finish you off!”

His hands were now pointed at the group that had been restrained. Without even taking a second to think, both Elizabeta and Mei found their instincts kick in as they jumped in front of the group with their own hands held out. Together, the two had held onto each other’s hands as a barrier formed around their free hands that were extended out, before shouting in unison, _“Deflectus!”_

The barrier, which had managed to take a hit from the attack sent by the demon, was enough for them to hold off until he had finished casting the spell. The issue was that with the magic being very strong, it hadn’t been long until the barrier had managed to shatter with more pressure applied to it.

The spell from his attack managing to break through, and hit Mei directly against the chest to send her down with the rest of the group that had been trapped in the shadow restraint.

“Mei!” Elizabeta began with panic in her tone of voice, before pausing and glaring right at the demon who looked completely unphased. Her hands were in fists, before holding out her hands as a large orb of magic began to form in between them, “I’ll make you pay for that, Demande!”

“..You know, Princess Elizabeta, I have been sick of your face since the day you entered Shadow Haunt,” Loud laughter erupted from the Dark Lord before he had held his hands out to the fairy, what looked to be another attack being launched at her direction, “You won’t be able to do that if you don’t exist anymore!”

With being focused on an offense attack, forming another barrier was something that Elizabeta couldn’t find herself doing when the attack was sent at her direction.

And this was something that one person had taken notice of her panic.

There was no hesitation that came to Gilbert when he saw this. A kick in his back had been enough to have him jumping forward where Elizabeta was standing when the attack was made. With his shield held out, he had placed himself in front of her and held the shield securely where a loud crash could be heard in response to the magic reflecting against it.

“What the hell, Gilbert?!” Elizabeta blurted out as the man lowered his shield and looked at the woman, “You idiot, you could’ve gotten yourself killed!”

The claim that came from the brunette had the albino chuckling to himself as he stood up and held onto the shield, “Eh, I’ve done worse,” He began, now dropping the shield that had been destroyed from the impact, “At least I can go to sleep peacefully knowing you’re okay, though.”

It was a sudden comment that she hadn’t been expecting to hear. One, to say the least, that had Elizabeta’s jaw-dropping and eyes widening…

…before for some reason, feeling her cheeks go red in blush at the moment.

Anger immediately built upon the Dark Lord’s expression upon seeing this, which at that point, he had enough with the fairies and heroes attempting to fight him. A waste of his time, when he could have already gone through the portal and completed his mission.

It was when an idea had come to his head. All it taking was one glance of the fairy up ahead who he had in his possession, who seemed to be heavily observant of the broken crystal in her hands.

“Why don’t we make things interesting, then?” As the demon spoke, he suddenly had turned himself around from the group. He continued to walk ahead of the road, leaving those who were still standing or trapped in the same position, before snapping his fingers which immediately caught the Princess’ attention all ahead, “And allow for you to die by the own hands of your Princess.”

_Your Princess?_

The same thought had lingered throughout everyone’s minds when this one phrase was said. But as the Dark Lord explained, he was serious upon the group being greeted to the sight of Natalya standing there in silence. She hadn’t paid attention to the snap, but more or less, was continued to be focused on the crystal in hand.

The demon looked over at the girl, motioning her to the group while he had taken a step back for now, “Go on, Natasha. Stop wasting your time on that crystal and do what you were born to do.”

Do what she was born to do…

Looking up upon hearing her name, the crystal hadn’t vanished from her hands. Instead, it floated beside her as she slowly walked over to the group to observe the situation, before feeling a large grin form on her lips as the enchantment that had taken over her mind began to take place.

The fairy held one hand to her side as light suddenly formed around it. All it took was for a few moments of her to focus on her magical energy before a beautiful scepter made out of crystal had taken form in her hands. It radiated with a strong sense of magic, showing authority in the situation of the moment all while the Dark Lord had taken a step back behind her to observe what she would do.

Her mind repeated the same words over and over again.

_Kill… Kill… Kill…_

“No, Natalya, please!” Florentyna had cried out to the other who had been standing in front of them. Her eyes were dark - almost as if they hadn’t been speaking to the true person that they all knew her for, “You know us! Don’t listen to him, you’re under a dark spell!”

Even with the desperation from cries, the issue was, her mind is clouded by the darkness blocked out any form of sensibility. No realization, no recollection of the faces that belonged to each figure - all of them had been silhouettes of humans that her heart currently had no care for.

Flying into the air now, Natalya looked down at the trapped group as she had held the scepter into the air. At the end of it, what looked to be a bright flame had formed on the end of it, which only grew in size as she continued to focus her magical energy on it. All it took was a matter of seconds for the flame to grow…

…And it was an attack that would wipe them all out of existence at once.

To only make matters worse in the situation, what looked to be ice in the shape of sharp knives began to form around the flame. It would be death through arson, with knives securing the enemy in her eyes.

Seeing the sight of this under the position that she was in, it horrified Anneliese. She couldn’t move, she couldn’t push herself up from the ground… Yet, this didn’t stop her from having an idea come to her mind.

Slowly turning her head over, Anneliese took in a breath before looking directly at Alfred who looked equally as horrified as everyone else in the situation. No one knew what to do. One launch of the attack by Natalya, and they were all dead on the spot. She bit down on her lower lip for a moment, before now calling out to him, “Alfred!” She began, which immediately caught the blonde’s attention, “You need to talk to her! There’s some light still in her - we just need to kick it out of her!”

The statement that was given by the younger girl brought confusion to the man’s expression. Talk to her? How was he supposed to be able to do anything with Natalya if she was fully a puppet of the Dark Lord? It was a questionable claim, but the issue in the matter was that he needed to trust the situation.

If Anneliese believed that talking to her would be the best route to go, then he had to listen to it.

“Maybe…” Alfred took in a breath for a moment before placing his hands on the ground. The shadows that had kept him trapped - it was painful, but he bit the pain in favor to attempt pushing himself up, “…Maybe she’ll listen and it’ll reach beyond the spell…”

The shadows had been attempting to pull him back down upon standing up. It was very painful - and took a lot of physical strength to keep himself from being pushed back down to the ground. The spell that the Dark Lord had trapped them in had been very bad, to the point where he approached Natalya, he could feel numbness catch up to his legs.

He had to trust it. Trust the idea and the situation that it would work.

“Yo-“ Gilbert couldn’t help but blurt out upon noticing Alfred struggling to walk over to Natalya, “What are you—“

Even the Dark Lord, seeing the sight of this, was very amused. What was he exactly doing? Trying to talk to her to see if she would snap out of it? It was practically impossible at that point to stop Natalya, which the demon had only continued to chant at the fairy, “Go on, Natasha! I said, finish them!”

“Wait, Natalya!” Alfred had called out to her. At that point, he had been standing right underneath her, looking up at the woman for a moment while continuing to struggle to keep himself up. His hands were in fists as he called out to her, attempting to make direct eye contact with her. Instead of shouting though, he spoke in a calm tone, “Listen to my voice, Natalya. You _know_ me, as I know you.”

The voice being very calm… The grip on the scepter that Natalya had tightened. However, in an attempt to ignore him, she focused on building up her magic in the spell that she was ordered to cast.

The issue was that even if she ignored eye contact, she still could hear him.

Alfred knew this was the case. She could hear him very well, and so, he persisted in the situation to try and help her pay attention, “You’re under a spell. This is not who you are. You always joked about being evil, but you _aren’t._ You have a true heart, Natalya, you just need to remember.”

“He doesn’t know anything,” It was at this point that the Dark Lord had flown up into the air, grabbing onto Natalya’s shoulder as her attack was now ready - she just needed the command, “Ignore him, Natasha—“

“I _know_ what your heart is like!” Alfred interrupted the demon, this time, taking another step forward while looking up at her. The entire time the scene had been taking place, those who were trapped, watched intently. Even for Anneliese, who found her eyes widen in fear that it wouldn’t work, found her heart picking up, “Your heart is full of light and is pure. You saved my life so many times, Natalya - and no evil person does that! You brought light to my life when I needed it, you took care of me when I needed you the most, and you brought me back when I almost died. I’m not going to let you go, so you have to fight this, Natalya!” The pain was quickly beginning to catch up to his head, where he had brought a hand up to it in the discomfort of the shadows, “You have to break free! And remember… because…

_…I love you, Natalya!”_

The three words had resulted in the fairy who had been once focused on the spell, only to shoot a look down at the direction of where the blonde had been looking up at her. She broke out of the demand from the Dark Lord, making that direct eye contact with the bright blue eyes that belonged to Alfred. Soon, her own eyes had slowly looked over to the group, making eye contact with each person… Her friends, her family… And then, the younger fairy, where Anneliese’s bright blue eyes were full of fearful tears.

She turned her head back to Alfred, who seemed to be pleading as her eye contact maintained with him. They were the eyes that she immediately recognized on the spot and felt her own eyes widen in shock, before the memories had begun to fill in…

…of how much she loved him.

To remember who she was, and remember who he was… Who they all were…

* * *

_She rose a brow now in confusion. What was he exactly doing?… Either way, the longer she looked at the note, the more she could just feel the pressure coming from Alfred. She reached into it now and noticed it was folded up. And so, with swift movements, she had opened up the note to see what was written on it in his handwriting:_

_'Will you go out with me?'_

_As she said this note, she stared at it for a long time. After the chaos that came from the entire night… Now that was the last thing Natalya ever expected to see from Alfred. She looked up at him, and from what she had been observing, it seemed like he had been standing there patiently waiting for her answer._

_“…is that a yes, Natalya?” He whispered lowly, now leaning himself forward to rest his forehead against her small one._

_“…Yes. I’ll be your girlfriend.”_

* * *

_“I do see the name Alfred around you, yes,” The Pixie nodded, though lowered her cup of tea to lean closer to the girl while the orbs continued floating around her, “But… He falls under a different category in your future. The family category.”_

_“Family?”_

_“Oh yes,” There was a nod from the elder Pixie once more as a smile was drawn to her lips, “I sense there will be a few bumps along the way of your relationship, but I see great romance and love between you two. A love that will lead to your futures, a future where you two will be surrounded by friendship and love, as well as be taking care of a family of your own.”_

* * *

_“Would you do me the honor to make me the happiest man alive and become my wife?”_

* * *

_“…Well… Alfred and I are married. So, naturally, these things happen. And while it’s a bit…sooner than we intended. Yes, it’s true. We’re expecting a baby in the winter.”_

* * *

The voices filled her head… All voices that she couldn’t tell who belonged to. It hadn’t been the voice of the Dark Lord no more… But instead, voices that she found herself safer listening to in the situation.

The scepter vanished almost instantaneously in the process of staring at Alfred, her eyes equally widened when meeting with Alfred’s panicked, pleading ones at the moment with her. ****

“…A-Alfred?”

Her expression began to slowly soften upon the realization hitting. As she took a moment to observe the scene, that was when she had begun to recognize everyone… All of her friends, the ones that she loved and cared for - there in the situation that she didn’t even realize what was going on.

That was when the pain began to fill in the back of her head.

Bringing her hands towards her head resulted in a pained groan to erupt from the woman, resulting in her to shut her eyes tightly. It hadn’t been a pain filling her head - but, a feeling of light being restored to her mind in the moment. Deep in her heart, she could feel her power beginning to rise through the darkness that had clouded it, all while a voice had shouted through her head.

_Let… Me… Out!_

Upon opening her eyes, a bright light had filled them, in addition to her body beginning to glow with magic. The scene was shocking to everyone at what they had been witnessing. However, what was more amazing was as the light continued to grow from her, the light had surrounded the area and touched those who were trapped.

As the light touched each individual who had been trapped under the dark spell from the Dark Lord, it vanished. The freedom of the trap allowed for them to all stand up in place, while the figure that stood in the air in light, slowly began to lower herself down to the ground.

 _“NO!”_ The demon who had been just behind her shouted in anger at the sight of the transformation taking place, “That’s IMPOSSIBLE! I have the power of the Legendary and control of its guardian-!”

By the time the Princess had lowered herself to the ground and stood there, the light had faded where the appearance where she had been a figure of darkness, vanished. Her eyes were closed for a moment as her breathing was steady, all while she had transformed back into her true form as a fairy. No dark attire - but back to the beautiful one that radiated the light of a fairy.

“How did she do it?…” In the midst of watching the transformation, Florentyna couldn’t help but gasp while her jaw was dropped in amazement.

Tatyana slowly approached Florentyna and placed a hand on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze, “She used the power in her heart to break through the curse,”

“I can feel it…” Mei felt a smile grow on her face, “The power… it’s so amazing.”

With a steady breath, the woman slowly opened her eyes and blinked a few times. The red shade that was once in her iris had turned back to its original violet-blue color. She was silent for a moment before noticing everyone beginning to stare at her, as the demon behind her continued his uproar.

 _“…No.”_ Slowly turning herself around, Natalya turned to face the Dark Lord with her expression narrowed at him, “You will _never_ have control of the dragon flame and heart of ice so long as I’m alive, and I’m closing the Realm of Relix - right here, right now.”

A hand was raised into the air before a bright light had struck in the palms of her hand with a loud clash. What looked to be a large flame formed in her grasp, before she immediately launched it right at the demon. The one hit had been enough to send the Dark Lord flying away from the spot, all while her hands were in fists and an angered expression grew to her face.

However, after a moment, she realized what had happened before. She slowly turned her head over to the group, immediate relief filling her expression after everything she had witnessed. After the whole kidnapping, the entire shadow virus - everything…

…And who she was especially relieved to see was Alfred, who seemed to be standing there, equally in shock.

There was no hesitation in her behavior at all. The once angered expression immediately transitioned into one of relief as she rushed towards the other to tackle him into a tight hug. The hug, which she immediately wrapped her arms around him and pressed her face into his chest; clinging onto him almost in dear life and relief that he was okay, “Alfred-!”

“Natalya…” To say the least, the hug was very unexpected. It was one that Alfred though did not hesitate to drop his own sword seeing the other run into his arms, which he caught her right away. His own arms had wrapped around her; holding onto her tight all while bringing her face to his chest. One hand rested behind her head while the other securely was placed onto her back.

Slowly pulling back from the hug, she looked up at him for a moment. Her face was flushed red, her eyes were a bit watered up, but she held back from releasing her tears. Instead, Natalya had reached over to cup his cheeks before whispering lowly, “I thought… I was done for…” She began, “…and the entire time under that spell… I just…” She rubbed her eyes, “All I could think about is if I could get one wish before I died, it was to see your… smile again. That’s all I wanted…”

His expression softened upon hearing these words. Alfred could only imagine the horrifying pain she had to endure through just that demon… Which was why he vowed then and there that he would make sure the Dark Lord paid. Not only for hurting her, but taking her away from him in the first place, “It’s okay… You’re safe now,” He whispered, leaning forward to rest his forehead against hers, “I promise I’ll never go anywhere.”

Leaning from there, his lips had pressed against hers in a kiss. It was a deep kiss that at the moment, Natalya hadn’t expected at all. She did lower her hands after a moment to grip onto his arms with a tight grip. It really was him - this was her Alfred. Her grip tightened more and more on him just for the sake of security, all while she leaned in herself to deepen the exchange between them.

The reunion after what felt like a chaotic few hours finally coming to fruition.

It was bittersweet at the moment. A moment of reuniting as lovers that everyone witnessing the scene couldn’t help but to feel touched by the moment. Florentyna brought her hands to her face, a large smile growing on her lips while watching, “I’m so glad she’s back, I might just start crying…”

Even for Anneliese, who had been standing there with her eyes widened and hand brought to her chest, she was touched by the sight. Based on the circumstances of where she was coming from in terms of her background, she was well aware of the strong love that the two had for one another…

…but it truly hit her differently from an emotional standpoint seeing them when they were around her age at that time.

_“THIS SHALL NOT END HERE!”_

When all had thought it would be a moment of relief now that the spell had been broken, the Dark Lord hadn’t been finished in the situation at all despite the attack that was launched by Natalya. It was at that point everyone had been on high alert, all while Natalya and Alfred had parted to look over in the direction of where the demon had begun to rise up.

The thing was that instead of the Dark Lord taking on the physical appearance of a human, he had turned into something else.

Hovering over the group, what creature had flown over them. It dripped with a dark essence, while its hands had sharp claws and it bared a mouth with sharp teeth. The eyes were red, its skin was red almost similar to the color of blood, all while dark shadows radiated around it.

It was a demon that they all never had seen before. It was known that the Dark Lord was a form of a demon — and perhaps, this was his true self and nature in the scene.

It was a true form that was shocking to all of them with knowing that it existed in the first place.

A hand was risen up by the demon creature before pointing over to Natalya, who had stood her guard while glaring up at the Dark Lord, “…Give me Princess Natasha…” His demand was loud and clear, “…and I’ll spare all of you…”

As this was said, Alfred had taken a step forward now and held his arm in front of Natalya, who was startled by the gesture. The sword that was once on the ground was immediately picked up, where he then had reached to his belt of equipment to pull out a shield in defense. The sword was pointed at the demon, all while the blonde looked up at the Dark Lord with an angered expression, _“No!”_ He snapped, “You will _never_ have her.”

One by one as Alfred had said this, footsteps could be heard from just behind him as each one of his team members had stood by his side. Gilbert, Mathias, and Antonio had all pulled out their own weapons in response to this statement, all while Natalya’s eyes were widened for a moment at the sight.

The final battle.

It was time to end it all.

Quickly, she had turned herself away from the heroes and immediately rushed over to the rest of the fairies that had stood on guard for a moment. She looked at each of them, indeed glad to see all of her friends being okay, “You guys alright?” Natalya had begun, before indeed noticing a familiar face as part of the group. The other blonde, being Anneliese, which had confusion form on her expression, “…Anna? What are you doing here?”

“Yeah, we’re all okay!” Mei responded to the other before approaching Natalya and grabbing onto her hands, “We’re just glad that you’re okay. Seriously, it’s been a crazy last few hours.”

A crazy last few hours… It was something that Natalya felt herself relating to on the spot. Though in the inquiry of ‘Anna,’ Anneliese had simply chuckled nervously before feeling her face turn red on the spot. What was she supposed to say??? How was she supposed to explain she was there???

“…S-She’s our support!” Florentyna blurted out in response, which everyone had slowly turned to face her, including Anneliese, in full-blown confusion. Natalya cocked a brow at this comment before Florentyna interrupted with further explanation, “Headmistress Radella explained we needed some sort of back-up that wasn’t the guys, and she volunteered to help.”

“Yup!” A quick nod came from Tatyana in agreement to the statement, all while Natalya continued with her suspicious glare, “Just as Florentyna said.”

A support… Well, there was nothing to question for that. Natalya nodded in understanding before responding, “Okay, good then. The power of seven chamixes than six will be even more powerful to take this guy down.”

In the middle of her sentence, the yelling only continued from the Dark Lord who had been lingering over the men now, “I _am_ going to take the Princess back!” He snapped before in his hands, what had looked like a large orb of magic had formed. The magic was then thrown at the men, which all four of them had proceeded to dodge from while the attack hit the ground. The one hit being enough to result in the ground to begin quaking and have those who were standing to begin stumbling on their feet, “Natasha belongs to ME!”

“We’re going to need some sort of cover,” Monika began while holding her arms out for balance so she wouldn’t trip on her feet, “Since if we’re going to combine our powers, one hit on us and we’ll lose control.”

The mentioning of the cover was the idea that the men guarding them while the spell was cast, yet the issue was that the Dark Lord had primarily been hitting them. If the men were taken down, then they would be in big trouble.

That was when an idea had come to Monika’s head.

“Okay, this is a bit of a crazy idea, but trust me on this,” Monika spoke up, managing to catch everyone’s attention, “What if we cast a barrier around ourselves and do the convergence spell at the same time?”

“How’s that even possible?” Elizabeta interrupted with her arms crossed, “We’d have to have good timing.”

Natalya frowned for a moment upon discovery as she looked up at the demon, that particularly had been eyeing at her, “…I’m saying this is in the nicest way possible… but that’s not going to work, Monika.”

“What?” Mei looked immediately at Natalya with confusion to her expression, “What do you mean by that? It’s not a bad idea,”

“I’m not saying it’s a bad idea… It’s just,” As she said this, her eyes glared directly at the Dark Lord for a moment process the situation. In her hands, she had looked at the palm of it, where the familiar broken crystal that ‘Anna’ had tossed to her remained. It was then that she looked at ‘Anna’ for a moment, who looked intimidated right away. Since if there was one thing that Natalya noticed while under that spell, it had been that, “…you can pick up the Legendary, can’t you?”

Everyone’s eyes widened at the mentioning of this. No one had expected for Natalya to pay attention to it, but the issue was that it was very obvious enough for the woman to notice. Anneliese swallowed nervously for a moment before holding her hands up innocently, wondering if the other was suspicious of how she truly is, “I—“

“…I still don’t understand what the Legendary is, since it showed up to me through a dream… But,” Natalya interrupted the girl before holding out a hand to her in particular, “If you can grab it, I’m going to need your help. My powers aren’t as strong without the full piece, and if we were going to combine our powers, he could easily manipulate my powers to cast it against us.”

It was smart thinking at the moment. Anneliese’s eyes were widened, truthfully horrified at the thought that Natalya had managed to figure out her true identity in the moment. However, seeing that she didn’t question it further and was asking for her help, that was when the younger girl nodded and slowly reached over to take the older woman’s hand, “I’ll help.”

A smile formed on Natalya’s lips when she heard this, which indeed, was a very rare sight due to her monotoned face that everyone was used to, “Thanks, Anna.” She responded before turning to the rest of the group, “So, here’s my plan.”

The plan was described briefly to the rest of the fairies about what exactly they were going to do. During the timing of all of this, the heroes who had been occupied dodging the Dark Lord’s magic and attempting their own attacks on him, it was enough time to at least keep the demon distracted so they could initiate the plan.

And this plan was thought out very quickly in detail. That by the time Natalya had finished explaining it to the rest of the group, she had jumped into the air with Anneliese, while the remaining five fairies had their hands held with one another while they began the enchantment.

Parting her hand from Natalya’s, Anneliese looked at the blonde for a moment of one more confirmation if she could do it. For some reason upon looking at the girl, Natalya couldn’t help but to feel her heart soften a little bit. She had no idea who she was truly, but there felt to be a connection there… One that she didn’t understand, and she felt that the younger fairy needed guidance in the moment…

“You got this,” Natalya whispered to her once more, before flying directly toward the Dark Lord, leaving ‘Anna’ to what she needed to do.

As the men had held their positions, Natalya had flown over and looked directly at the demon who continued to lay eyes on her. She took in a breath before flying closer, which indeed brought confusion to the demon, as well as for the heroes on the ground.

“…Natalya?” Gilbert blurted out upon seeing this, “Uh, what is she doing?”

The question was one even Alfred had when he noticed her suddenly approach the Dark Lord, almost as if to have a word with him, “I have no fucking clue,” He admitted, though from the corner of his eye, he had noticed someone fly past the Dark Lord to get behind him.

Bracing herself for the idea that she had, Natalya lowered herself to the ground now where she had dropped to both her knees and held her head down to the demon, who looked right at her with suspicion, “…Lord… Demande…” She began, almost in a pleading tone of voice, “…help me… please… the light… I cannot break from it… please…”

The sight was absolutely shocking to the men.

“I-Is it the shadow virus again!?” Mathias responded at the sight of this, all while Alfred had reached over and grabbed the other to cover his mouth with his hand.

“Shut up,” Alfred snapped, keeping his eyes on particularly not on Natalya, but the sight of Anneliese who had flown past earlier.

What were they planning?

Seeing the Princess approach him, only to fall onto her knees in front of him was a shocking sight after the stunt that was pulled earlier. The Dark Lord, who had lowered himself to the ground now stared down at Natalya who kept her head lowered and remained on her knees, almost as if she were bowing to him, “…the Princess willingly wanting to come back to the darkness?” He couldn’t help but to chuckle to reach over with his sharp claws, only to slowly lift up her chin to make eye contact with her. Her eyes, which had been glowing of power, showed a sign of weakness, “Ah… I can feel the power of the shadow virus lingering inside of you, Princess… However,”

The claw immediately went from her chin, only to grasp onto her neck. The action was unexpected for Natalya, which she had choked on her breathing immediately the second the demon had risen her into the air by holding onto her neck. The sight of it was horrifying to the men, including Alfred, who had been wanting to intervene - but he held back.

“…Apologize for your mistakes, Natasha,” The Dark Lord spat at her, “Apologize and beg for forgiveness! For betraying me, for allowing the light to perish the darkness in your heart, immediately!”

Silence came from Natalya while her hands had gripped onto the hand that was around her neck. She took in a moment to breathe, before waiting a second to confirm that Anneliese had managed to get where she needed to be. Upon seeing the younger fairy in position, this was when Natalya had looked directly into the Dark Lord’s eyes before whispering.

“…I’m sorry… for taking back what’s _mine_.”

The demon’s eyes widened at the sudden apology that came from the girl. But not for what he wanted.

And it was then, that he was greeted by something he hadn’t been expecting.

Just behind him, Anneliese had been holding onto what looked to be a sword. This hadn’t been any sword, but one made out of ice that Natalya had given to her before the split was made between her and the group in the first place. She had held onto the handle of the blade, before holding it up into the air…

…and piercing it directly into the demon’s back, straight into his heart.

A loud roaring screech could be heard from the Dark Lord as this gesture was done by the fairy. It was a flank that he hadn’t noticed due to being distracted by the Princess, which was all part of Natalya’s plan. The second the blade had been pierced through his back to his heart, this allowed for her to hold her hand out as a bright flame formed in the palms of her hands. She used this to extend the opening in his chest, where she immediately made eye contact with the broken piece of the crystal that she needed.

The second the crystal made contact with her power, the broken half had gone flying directly to her, where she had grasped onto it the second the demon had dropped her to the ground from her neck.

The plan that was explained to the rest of the group was to trick the demon. With having such a fascination over Natalya, he would be easily distracted by her. The one thing she had remembered before falling into the Shadow Virus spell was him taking the crystal from her and internally consuming it into his heart. That way, she wouldn’t have access to it, nor would the shadow virus ever break from her.

Yet, she did break through it, and she had to make sure that the virus never again managed to haunt her.

The idea was that as she distracted the demon, Anneliese would be the one to sneak behind him and stab an opening through his chest with the sword of ice that was given to her. Which ultimately, would serve as the opening opportunity for those who had been in the middle of the enchantment to secure their final hit to the demon.

Which at that point, Florentyna, Mei, Elizabeta, Tatyana, and Monika who were joined in hands, had grown what looked to be a powerful orb as they continued their enchantment.

With the crystal now back in her possession, the Dark Lord had fallen to his knees as blood managed to rise from his chest. He at that point had reached over to pull out the sword from his back, all while glaring at Anneliese who had flown back to the group of fairies.

That was when he realized it. She wasn’t just any fairy — she had the ability to have access to the crystal. She was the one who had thrown the broken piece of the Legendary to the Princess and help her regain her strength.

And her face…

…It matched the one of the child of Natasha’s twenty years into the future.

“…Of course…” The Dark Lord erupted into laughter upon the realization beginning to take fruition into his mind, “…of course the queen… sent her child here, of course she did!”

The words that came from the demon’s mouth were ones that no one had been paying attention to. The only one who had heard in full detail had been Anneliese, whose eyes widened for a moment, but she instead focused on the part of Natalya’s plan to finish the demon off entirely out of existence.

And this part consisted of joining the convergence spell to be launched at the Dark Lord.

Both Natalya and Anneliese had lowered themselves to the ground where they had run over to the circle of fairies that had been continuing the enchantment. Reaching in to join the circle of hands, they now began to contribute to the glowing orb of magic as everyone had their eyes closed to focus.

_“With thy powers of light, we convergence our powers to perish all life of the darkness in this realm!”_

All the fairies had chanted in unison as the spell was cast. It took only a few seconds for the Dark Lord, who had been kneeling on the ground wounded, to hear this spell before he attempting to get up to defend himself from the attack, “NO! NO!…

_…NO!!!!!”_

The orb of light went flying in his direction, where a loud explosion could be heard upon it making an impact on him. The blast of the spell had resulted in bright light to fill around the area, yet as it slowly died back down to the normal colors of the portal…

…the only sign left of the Dark Lord had been the dust in the air.

The fairies and heroes stared where the Dark Lord had been once kneeling in front of them, all horrified at the scene of what had happened.

He had been erased from existence.

“…did it… work?” Mei broke the silence after a moment, her breathing steady due to fear that the demon may pop out of somewhere and the spell may have failed.

As the question was asked, Monika had held her hand out in the direction of where the demon was once kneeling. Magic flew from her fingertips as what looked to be a scan took place in the area to see if she could detect another life force of darkness in the area. She paused a moment and lowered her hand upon coming to a conclusion, “Lord Demande is gone. I don’t detect any other life sources here other than ours—“

While in the middle of explaining this, the ground, suddenly began to quake violently.

“Well, now that he’s gone, I think that’s our indicator that we need to get out of here!” Florentyna began in a shriek before jumping into the air, flying directly opposite of the road of the portal towards the door they had once entered through, “Come on!”

The ground began to pick up in its quaking. Just as the fairy had explained, she was indeed correct. Now that the source of all darkness in Shadow Haunt had been perished, there was no stability in the Kingdom. One by one began to follow the fairy towards the door that had been opened to rush out quickly.

Just as it was expected, the walls of the throne room had begun to crack into pieces. Fortunately for the group, the men had specifically landed the ship in a particular area, which they had to get to quickly before the full palace came crashing down on them. They all had sprinted towards the exit of the throne room and immediately began following the direction of where they had once came when entering the palace - this time, Alfred leading since he had known where the ship directly was.

Outside on a balcony entrance, the ship had sat there parked and untouched entirely. Loud clashes could be heard as boulders and pieces of the palace began to hit the ground, shattering into pieces while the Kingdom came crumbling down. To cut down on time, Alfred had reached into his pocket to pull out a key for the ship; pressing a button for it to automatically open so they could all rush in and they could do an emergency take off.

However, to all of their surprise upon entering the ship, what they all hadn’t been expecting to see were six other older individuals standing there.

One of them being the Headmistress to the fairies, as well as the Headmaster to the men.

“What the-!?” Were the first words that came from Alfred from being startled at the sight of the older figures, clearly confused on how they had gotten into the ship when he had the key, “How did-“

“You forget who owns this ship, Jones.” Headmaster Elijah, who simply stood there with a smile brought to his lips stood there with the rest of the older individuals. Despite the confusion, and the fact that the older fairies, including Radella, were now transformed back into battle gear, Elijah had looked at the men with a serious expression, “Emergency take off, now.”

“Y-Yessir!” All of the men responded in horrified unison since the reality was that they must take all orders from their elders.

Each hero went directly to their designated seating arrangements, with Mathias on the motherboard, Antonio on the navigation, Gilbert in the co-pilot’s chair, and Alfred in the pilot’s chair. All it had taken was a few seconds for them to prepare the emergency take-off, without giving a chance for everyone to be seated, before the ship had been flown directly into the air to escape the realm quickly before it came crumbling down.

It had been fast, to the point where everyone had been holding onto at least something as the take-off was initiated.

A take-off where the end of a successful, dangerous mission, came to an end.

* * *

Escaping the realm came with a plentiful of questions. A variety mainly being from Natalya herself, who had equally as astonished as the rest of the group when seeing the older guardians be in the ship. Specifically, Radella, whom she had fully believed after so many years had retired from participating in missions or battles.

It was a conversion where questions were answered. Radella answering questions about what the decision led to reunite the old Company of Light together, as well as the answers of how they had gotten themselves there in the first place.

However, as the trip was made back to Lenfia, things may have been relieving to all of them - except for one individual on that ship.

Sitting in her seat with a belt on, Anneliese had sat there silently with her head focused at her feet. The mission she was sent for was complete. The two broken pieces of the Legendary was brought back to its owner, which meant she would be able to go home without any issue nor concern at all.

Right?

The issue arose though when it came to opening the Realm of Relix. With there being no key to access the portal, it came with the sacrifice of using the future pieces of the codex that her father had provided her to travel back through time. With making that sacrifice, she now had no idea how she would be able to get home.

And all she wanted was to go home after everything that had taken place.

Her quiet behavior may have not been noticed by the others, but for one individual, it did manage to catch her eye.

Tatyana had been sitting just beside her during the travel back. While everyone had been distracted in their own conversations, she had taken this chance to lean over and whisper to Anneliese, “…you okay, sweet pea?”

The question was startling at first. Anneliese had been off thinking to herself in her mind, trying to figure out how she was going to get back after using her piece of the Codex to open the Realm of Relix. She looked over at Tatyana with her eyes widened, choosing the route to lie as she slowly nodded, “…Y-Yeah…”

_“No, you’re not.”_

Horror filled Anneliese’s face immediately at the mentioning of this.

The thing was that when it came to emotions, came to nature telling everyone’s true feelings. It was one of the gifts that Tatyana had as a fairy. To be able to read the emotions of others through the power of nature of reading a person’s true, vulnerable self. She smiled at Anneliese, not to intimidate her, but more or less, listen to her and comfort her.

“You can tell me.” Tatyana spoke in reassurance, yet kept herself at a whisper, “What’s wrong?”

It was so weird to Anneliese. Even though she had known Tatyana, as well as the rest of the fairies and heroes on board that ship fully - she knew them completely different to how they were much younger. The thing that was weird, was the fact that Tatyana was the exact same as she treated her with her future self. Being caring, but also not hesitating to call her out if something was wrong.

Anneliese looked down before going into a whisper. For the sake of not having anyone else hear their conversation, she then explained into detail what the issue was. The main factor of explaining how the codex worked, there could be only one use of it before it could be used again after a matter of time.

There being no way to have access to the Realm of Relix meant that there was no way to go back home.

Hearing these words had Tatyana think for a moment. That was when she had remembered one thing, and it took place specifically with Radella when they had all encountered her earlier in the palace.

“I think…” A small hum came from Tatyana as she reached over and gave the younger girl’s shoulder a squeeze, “I may have an idea to help you with that,”

An idea on how to get her home… It was one that Anneliese didn’t know. But for the sake of not having anyone hear them, Tatyana had promised her that they would speak to the Headmistress later on upon their arrival back to Lenfia.

The trip back to Lenfia had been just about an hour. Their arrival was greeted to silence on the campus, seeing that it had been extremely late in the evening with the mission taking more than a day to successfully complete. With everyone’s arrival, also came with the priority of taking the day to rest and be examined through the university for their health, to see if they were all clear and not injured nor ill.

In the midst of everyone stepping off-board the ship, Tatyana had taken this her opportunity to approach the Headmistress with the idea she had promised to do for Anneliese. The discussion took place while everyone had been making their way off the ship, which at this point, all of the fairies had transformed back into their human forms now that there was no reason for battle.

The inquiry was one that Radella hadn’t been expecting to hear at all. The mentioning of the codex of the future being used to open the Realm to get to Natalya was shocking, but then came with the additional part of the artifacts that Radella had given each of the fairies to protect as their first key. Seeing that they had separated in the beginning to not waste time, this meant that the artifacts hadn’t been used.

And as the Headmistress explained to all of them, it was a secret, second key that would be able to open up the portal.

Radella looked down at Anneliese as the suggestion was made before she looked over at Tatyana to whisper, “Tomorrow morning,” She began, “You all have the pieces of the relic. In order to open the portal, you must combine your powers. But only do it tomorrow, since, with all your magical energies drained from battle, it won’t work.”

It was possible. There was a way to get her home, which indeed was relieving to Tatyana as she smiled and nodded at the older woman, “Thank you, Headmistress,” She whispered, before turning herself away to join the rest of the group to head to the infirmary.

The directions by the Headmistress were cleared out in detail. In order to open the portal, they would have to use their powers when they weren’t exhausted to allow a gate for Anneliese to pass through. With this information in mind, Tatyana had proceeded with her proposal to the rest of the group when Natalya hadn’t been around for the sake of her not catching onto the plan.

Tomorrow morning, they would all meet at the lake where the Dark Tower once stood weeks ago with each piece of the artifact. With the artifacts, they would open up the portal for Anneliese, and make their final goodbyes then and there.

The plan would be initiated where they would all firstly, get some rest after an intense day of battling and magic.

At the same time, making sure that Natalya didn’t find out what they were doing.

With the arrival to Lenfia, the check-ins in the infirmary were made, as well as the discussion of the plan to meet with Headmistress Radella to discuss of the situation at hand. Now that the Dark Lord had been taken care of, there had been another issue at hand, which involved the questioning of where the witches had ended up.

No sight of them was seen at Shadow Haunt. For everyone involved in the mission, this issue had to be resolved as soon as possible. Their involvement with the Dark Lord showed that they had broken free from their sentence, as well as may be as powerful as they were once earlier that year.

The following morning had arrived quickly. At the rise of dawn, Elizabeta, Florentyna, Tatyana, Mei, and Monika had made their departure from their suite, while Natalya remained fast asleep for that morning. If they were to succeed in opening the portal, they had to continue their promise to the future Alfred - and that was to make sure Natalya didn’t find out at all.

Outside of Lenfia’s gates, two of the heroes who had participated in the mission the previous day had waited with Anneliese by their side. Alfred kept a hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze of reassurance while Gilbert had watched ahead, the five fairies who had been dressed early that morning to assist with the enchantment.

And so, for those who were awake that early morning, the eight of them made their way to the secluded area of the lake. The enchantment must be done when no one was around. The early morning was perfect timing, which guaranteed everyone would be asleep. Including Natalya, who the entire time they had left, had been passed out in her bed.

The lake was very peaceful in the morning. Over the edge of it, the sight of the sun had slowly begun to rise, resulting in a beautiful, glistening light to shine over the surface of the water.

In the midst of the preparation of the spell, all of the fairies had begun “So you really can’t tell us when you’ll be… Well, here in this era?” Florentyna asked the younger blonde while looking down at her, frowning since well, she hadn’t expected for the departure to be so soon.

“I’d rather not know, please.” Mei interrupted the other before looking at Anneliese with an innocent smirk, “But you can tell us if you want…~”

“Stop it.” Monika snapped at the both of them with a sigh, all while turning to face them, “You really want your futures to be spoiled that soon? If you know, then what’s the point of looking forward to what ‘the future has in store for us’?”

Alfred hearing this for a moment before turning to face the other blonde, “She has a point, you know. It’s a good thought to know good things are coming, but I’d like to see it when I least expect it.”

Hearing the bickering among the group, for one thing, was surprisingly funny to Anneliese. As the younger girl listened, she laughed quietly to herself. While she thought it wasn’t loud, it seemed to have been loud enough for them to hear, which immediately resulted in her innocently holding up her hands, “Sorry, sorry.” She chuckled and looked at Florentyna, “Even if you asked me a million times. I actually don’t want you to know either when I show up.”

“…Really?” Elizabeta was amused as she heard this and knelt down to look at Anneliese with her brows raised, “That’s interesting to hear, coming from you especially.”

“Well, I say this because I don’t even know what happens then.” Anneliese said simply, “But I’m sure it’s nowhere near soon, so save your breath.”

At the mentioning of this, laughter managed to erupt from everyone at the comment. One thing that they all had gotten to know about Anneliese was how she could be very funny, but also very ‘sassy’ at the same time. Not that anything was wrong with this, but the child was more mischievous than they all first saw her through the whole fake ‘Anna’ persona.

With the arrival at the lake, came the process of not wasting any more time. They had to get back before Natalya woke up and noticed they were all gone, which was why the departure had to be done quickly.

Both Alfred and Gilbert had kept their distance seeing all of the fairies form into a circle to conduct the enchantment to open up the door to the Realm of Relix. The entire time, Anneliese had stood there in the same robes she had first arrived in, all while watching the scene take place.

The five pieces of the gems were held together closely in each one of their hands, all while they put their magical energy into focus. Each one of their hands quickly glew with magic when beginning the enchantment, that once the gems had connected to their energies, a bright light formed in front of them.

In the enchantment, the group shouted in unison, _“Open the gates to the Realm of Relix!”_

A bright light flashed through the gems. The light grew brighter and larger in size, to the point where what looked to be a shape of a door had formed in front of the fairies. The wind in the surrounding area began to pick up, while the lake produced small waves that splashed against the sand once the door had formed.

The door had been the same exact one as the one they had left in Shadow Haunt. The one that Anneliese had sacrificed her ticket home to rescue Natalya and stop the Dark Lord, but karma did truly pay its way. When she thought all was lost, all was found again through fate.

Finding something that was once lost to be found again - it was something she had heard from a very important woman growing up.

A saying her grandmother would share all the time.

The light dimmed once the door had formed in front of the five fairies. From there, they had all stepped back and away for Anneliese, who looked at the door with widened else. She was intimated by the sight of it… Resulting in her to hesitate while taking a step forward.

She frowned for a moment, thinking about the entire adventure she had just traveling into the past. It was her very first mission when she wasn’t even a full-fledged fairy. Let alone, just a fairy in training, and she managed to do so much more than any fairy of her generation would ever be able to do.

Anneliese turned around to face the group, a large smile on her face. If there was one thing she had been taught, it was that she should never say goodbye to someone… It was a, I’ll see you soon, which was definitely the case there, “Thank you all for everything,” She began while holding onto her back tightly, “I feel like… I’ve learned so much during this mission.”

“I think we owe you a big thank you as well, Anneliese,” Elizabeta explained to the other, which was met in mutual agreement with nods. As she said this, she leaned over while looking at the younger girl, “Your bravery, especially for how younger you are, is amazing. I’m vouching for myself, but I definitely wouldn’t be able to do what you did when I was first unlocking my charmix abilities.”

“Oh, I agree with that one,” Florentyna laughed as this was said, “When I first found my abilities, I was flying into trees and blowing up things! Seriously, I’d say you’re way more advance than I first was.”

“You take good care of yourself, okay?” Tatyana followed-up with Anneliese before giving her a reassuring thumbs-up. She was glad to have remembered about the artifacts that Radella had given her, and now, they were at least able to help Anneliese go home properly, “And make sure to give our love to our future selves.”

A nod was given by Anneliese when this was said. Hearing such reassuring words, it made her feel good. And she felt honored to have that experience in the first place that now, she was able to know how the people she knew in the future were when they were younger. It was exactly the same, but she also got to see first hand what it was like for one of their greatest battles.

Though as she stood there, she couldn’t help but notice Alfred looking directly at her with a smile grown to his lips. Anneliese paused for a moment, watching as he was able to open his mouth to say something to her…

…but all she could do then and there was place her bag down temporarily before running over to the older male and tackle him in a tight hug.

The gesture was unexpected for Alfred. He had been planning to give her his best wishes, but the second he had seen the younger girl run over to him, he had immediately dropped down to his knees and returned the hug by giving her a squeeze around her shoulders. The entire time, Anneliese had pressed her face into the male’s chest, holding onto him tightly.

Alfred chuckled at this for a moment. He let the girl hug it out just for a moment while rubbing her back. It was bittersweet to him… He didn’t know her that well, but she knew him entirely. The fact that she was living proof that his future with Natalya was going to be good, he knew he was going to miss her. And did look forward to the day that she would make an entrance in their time.

“Take care, Anneliese,” Alfred smiled as the younger girl eventually pulled away, giving her shoulders a comforting squeeze, “Remember, this ain’t goodbye. I’ll see you soon.”

Hearing the mentioning of the see you soon - it was amazing to her that she had heard it then and there. Her father back home was the one who told her this before any mission he had. She looked up at him and nodded in agreement.

_“Mhm! I’ll see you soon, daddy."_

It was then that the younger girl had pulled back from the hug and ran quickly to go pick up her belonging. Alfred, who had been kneeling there with his eyes widened, was unsure of what to say other than feeling himself be speechless. It still shocked him to know that the future had a lot in store for him, but he didn’t know the exact details of when.

At least he did have something to look forward to.

With her belongings in hand, this was when Anneliese had approached the door to open it. Similar to the portal back from when they had entered it in Shadow Haunt, a bright light had filled the area briefly before a portal was opened. The younger girl took this moment to look back at the rest of the group before waving, a smile grown to her lips, “Bye! Thank you so much again!”

And with this, Anneliese had stepped through the portal, where the door of the realm had closed right behind her. As the door was closed, another bright light had formed around the shape of the door, before vanishing into thin air.

It was a sign that she not only had succeeded in her mission, but she would be able to return home safely where the rest of her family waited for her.

Everyone was silent as the girl made her departure. That was that, and so, resulted in Florentyna to clear her throat before looking at the sun rise ahead, “So,” She began, “Anyone want to go into Magix to get some breakfast?”

“Breakfast sounds great, actually.” Gilbert responded to the suggestion while stretching his arms, yawning in the process of doing so, “I could really go for a egg omelet right now…”

Breakfast was on everyone’s minds. After all, after returning from the mission the previous day, none of them had a proper meal to eat. And so, came with a proposal from Monika while they all began walking back to Lenfia’s campus, “Or, we could go make breakfast at the suite. Plus, traffic is probably terrible this time in the morning for commuters.”

“Love the fact that even in the magic dimension…” Elizabeta chuckled to herself while looking up at the sky, “Traffic is just as bad as Earth, from what Natalya has told me.”

“Speaking of Natalya… You don’t think she’s awake now, do you?” Mei had asked with curiosity.

Monika paused for a moment before shaking her head. It couldn't have been possible, they were only gone for an hour. It was also just breaking about 6 AM, so no one would be awake at that time - including someone like her, where she was more of a night owl, “No, she was knocked out by the time we all left. But if we’re going to make breakfast, we should hurry back—”

In the middle of her sentence, a bright light had flashed from above them. This had managed to startle Monika as she shrieked and covered her mouth, only to notice what looked to be a white envelope flying from right above them.

The envelope, which no one had expected, slowly floated down from the sky. Alfred noticed it right away as he reached for the envelope, staring at it for a moment, “The hell’s this?”

“Who would send a letter this early in the morning?” Gilbert took note of this before looking over at Alfred’s hands to see who it was addressed to. That was when he had noticed it… The sealed candle wax keeping the envelope closed - it had been a symbol from a Kingdom. Not just any Kingdom, but in particular, the Kingdom that he, Monika, and Alfred were from, “Oh shit, Alfred, is that a letter from your parents?”

“They must be crazy for being up this early, sending letters…” Elizabeta couldn’t help but to comment as she approached the blonde to look at the letter, “My parents are rulers, but would never be up this early.”

“Probably,” Alfred sighed for a moment before opening the seal. The fact that it had been red, as well as had his Kingdom’s seal on it, indicated right away to him that it had to have been from the royal family. He figured it was from his father, which he opened right away, “Probably my old man found out about the mission and wants me to come home or something…” He chuckled, “That’s not going to happen—”

Inside the envelope though, for one thing, it hadn’t been anything that he was expecting.

Pulling out what looked to be a simple sheet of paper, Alfred blinked for a moment before opening the letter, only to then notice the future details of it. Inside the envelope had been not only a letter addressed to all of them, but…

…there was a picture inside of it as well.

“Holy shit…” Alfred had pushed up his glasses while scanning through the letter. He turned around to face everyone before looking up, shock brought to his expression, “It’s from… Natalya.”

“…What?” Florentyna stared at the other, bursting into laughter, “That’s impossible. Nat’s asleep.”

“No,” Alfred showed the letter to the other, which indeed, revealed to have specific writing and a signature from the woman he had said, “It has Eraqion’s symbol on it because it’s from Natalya — she sent this from the future.”

The second it all had clicked, Florentyna had rushed over quickly to snatch the letter from Alfred to read from it directly. She cleared her throat, beginning to read it aloud for the others to hear, _“Hi everyone…_

_…I know these last few hours for you must have been extremely difficult. However, I wanted to reach out personally to extend my gratitude and thanks for not only succeeding in this mission, but for taking care of my daughter. I know no one probably has said it yet, but I wanted to be the first one to acknowledge your braveries and efforts. Even if it has to be in this format of a letter, at least you all will get the message._

_Anneliese has returned home safely here in Eraqion. I’m sorry that you all had to meet her so soon when you all haven’t even graduated yet. But, I’m sure as you’ve gotten to know her, you all know that you have wonderful futures up ahead._

_The Shadow Virus has been fully removed through the Legendary, which means I am safe, and everyone is safe. Take this time to celebrate, enjoy yourselves, and don’t worry about the future._

_We’ll handle it from here._

_Sending all our love and best of luck for all your future missions._

_All the best,_

_Queen Natasha & King Alfred _

_( & the future company of light)._

_…_ And that’s it.” Florentyna looked over at the rest of the group before pouting looking at the letter. It was a shocking surprise for all of them, including her, “That’s so relieving to hear she made it home safely.”

“That definitely sounds like a letter from her too…” Monika reached over to take the letter from Florentyna to examine it, indeed taking note of the fact that it was signed off by not just Natalya, but the future Alfred as well, “Future Company of Light… I wonder what that stands for…”

“I think I have a pretty good idea,” Alfred began, while in his hands, he had been observing what looked to be a card that came part of the letter.

The thing was that it hadn’t been just any card. He looked over to the group of fairies where they had been reading the letter, only to turn the card over to reveal the front side of it - which had been an image.

A picture of all of them.

Loud gasps came from all of them as the image was revealed, only for Florentyna to walk over and snatch it from the male first to bring it close to her face, “Oh my god, is that us?!” She began while observing closer detail, opening her mouth to comment something before pausing, “Hey, wait. I actually don’t look bad here!”

“Let me see!” Mei reached over and grabbed the image from Florentyna to observe, which just as she saw from afar when it was in Alfred’s grasp, it was definitely all of them.

It had been a group photo. From observation, it seemed to have been some sort of party birthday party that had been taking place on Earth rather than Eraqion, seeing that they were in all casual clothing than anything royal attire. All of it was familiar faces, beginning with Florentyna on the right as the row went down with Monika, Tatyana, Elizabeta, and Mei, before leading into Gilbert, Mathias and Antonio all posing for the photo.

In the middle of all of them, Alfred had been kneeling in the middle with that looked to be a cowboy hat and fake mustache to be funny for the photo, all while Natalya had been kneeling beside him. The two of them, hugging Anneliese, while the younger girl had her hair in pigtails and seemed to have been wearing a pair of fake fairy wings.

Based on the image, it had to have been Anneliese’s birthday when she was younger, since the little girl in the middle looked much younger in comparison to the girl they had seen leave just moments ago. She had looked around nine years old - which the Anneliese they had all met, while they had no idea how old she was, had to at least be 15 or older.

The one thing that was interesting about this image, was the fact that there seemed to have been two other little girls. One who had been a brunette, sitting on Gilbert’s shoulders and making a funny face, all while a baby with a face similar to Anneliese’s who had to have been a toddler had been in Tatyana’s arms.

“That’s freaky.” Monika couldn’t help but comment after a moment of observing the photo, “And we don’t know when this happens. Huh.”

“It’s a mystery that we get to wait and see,” In the midst of saying this sentence, Alfred had reached over and snatched the image from the girls, who had all looked at him with an annoyed expression. Seeing that already they were exposed enough to the future, he had folded the letter, as well as the image, to place directly into his back pocket so they wouldn’t worry about it, “Anyways, breakfast?”

Even if he had annoyed the rest of the group by doing such a thing, he’d rather not push it any further with investigating the photo. It was a nice touch of their future selves that they got to look forward to, but the present was now, and it was important to focus on taking those steps to accomplish that future.

The security that Anneliese made it home was indeed a good feeling to know.

Alas, the group began their way back to Lenfia. With it still being the early morning, not a lot of students had been up at all. Even for Natalya, who had been passed out asleep in her room back at Lenfia, she hadn’t bothered waking up at all…

…that was until she had to use the restroom as any human did early in the morning.

Pushing the covers off of her body, Natalya slowly laid up from the bed with half-lidded eyes. She could technically be considered still fast asleep, but with a bit of awareness while she walked from her shared room with Tatyana, to the hallway outside.

As expected, it was dark in the hallway. No one had to be awake, which allowed her to make her way to the bathroom in one peace to do what she needed to do. Yet even while washing her hands, she stared at herself in the mirror, clearly exhausted to the point where she had left the bathroom yawning.

Her exhaustion kept up to her — until the sound of the front door opening caught her attention.

Natalya’s eyes fully opened now while walking down the hallway. She had still been in her pajamas walking over, all while her hair had been pulled up into a messy bun and she looked like she had just woken up minutes before. What she hadn’t been expecting was the first thing she had seen step through the door…

…had been Alfred himself, who seemed to have walked in casually and reached over to turn on a light.

Her presence, however, was entirely unexpected as the man gasped a moment and clutched onto his chest, only to be met with a long glare coming from his girlfriend, “Natalya? What are you doing?”

“…I should be asking you that question,” Natalya responded with a yawn while rubbing her eyes, “What are you doing here?”

Asking this question seemed to have been answered upon seeing all of her roommates enter the room just behind him, as well as for Gilbert. Now Natalya had been even more confused before turning to look over at the clock. It was just breaking 7 AM at that point, which she had no idea why they were all there and awake.

“The fuck?” Natalya questioned again, “What’s going on?”

“…Surprise!” Florentyna blurted out upon noticing that Natalya was awake since that was one thing they all weren’t expecting to encounter upon arriving back, “We’re having a group breakfast.”

“…group breakfast.” Natalya responded in a monotone voice.

“Yep.” Mei played along with the idea since technically that was what they were there for… Minus the fact that they had all snuck out earlier to complete the one last thing they all needed to do, “You in?”

Was she in for breakfast? Natalya stared for a moment before blinking and yawning. She was too tired, all while she noticed Tatyana and Elizabeta already making their way into the kitchen to begin grabbing pans and pots to cook. She nodded, though as she nodded, she made her way to the couch that had been in their small living room and grabbed the throw-blanket over it, “Mhm,” She responded and laid herself down on the couch, “Just… wake me up when it’s done… I’m good with just coffee…”

Within seconds, the girl’s eyes had closed, and she had fallen asleep right then and there.

A long pause came from the group seeing that the other had practically passed out then and there. Then again, it was a very early morning and she was the one who was known for sleeping in, which was why it hadn’t been questioned.

Of course, for Alfred, he took this as a sole opportunity to approach her before gently scooping her up in his arms. There was no change to her sleep when he had done this, before he looked over at the group with an innocent smile, “I’ll take care of it. Let me know if you need any help,”

“I see how it is,” Florentyna couldn’t help but taunt the other while she sat at the kitchen table, looking over her nails, “You get to go rest while we do the breakfast.”

Saying this one sentence had resulted in a glove to be smacked right against her head. Florentyna, who let out a small wince, looked over where Monika had been glaring right at her, “Says the one who just sits there and hasn’t grabbed anything yet.”

“I don’t cook. I’d cause a fire,” Florentyna said simply, before standing up, “Actually, I can make coffee-“

 _“No.”_ The group of fairies had said in unison. Even Gilbert being part of the unison, who had been staring right back at Florentyna while preparing to whip some eggs to be cooked.

The one no was a big indicator that if she were to touch something in the kitchen, something may happen. And so, Florentyna shrugged, all while scrolling away through her phone.

However, scrolling through her phone did serve a bit of a purpose.

Florentyna had been known for spending her time on social media. And with having access to the media through the magic dimension internet, came with discovering recent news. To her, she hadn’t expected to open up one of her profiles to see a breaking news headline from the Ministry of Magix - which consisted of high authorities that were elected after the loss of the capitol of the magic dimension.

In bold letters, the headline was enough for Florentyna to speak out, “Hey guys, check this out,” She began with a bit of amusement to her tone of voice, “I think I figured out what happened with certain individuals from Shadow Haunt…” As she said this, everyone had slowly stopped what they were doing in terms of cooking breakfast in favor to look at the girl, before she cleared her throat, _“Breaking news, descendants of the ancestral witches found and captured in the World of Peace.”_

“What the heck?” Mei placed her bowl and whisk down where she had been in the process of making pancakes for everyone, “I thought the witches escaped the World of Peace in favor of being with the Dark Lord.”

“Yeah, that did happen,” Monika began and reached to take out her own phone to see if she could find the breaking news headline, “We didn’t see them in Shadow Haunt, remember? Only that time when Natalya was still under the spell. But even when we had fought the Dark Lord, they were nowhere in plain sight.”

“Wait for this, it gets more interesting,” Florentyna grinned while scrolling through her phone to continue reading the article, “Apparently, there was an explosion in the World of Peace where they had been sent directly there. They were captured immediately, and now are expected to be put on trial the beginning of the new year…” She looked over at the group, “And if they don’t pass, they’ll either be sent away for eternity or executed based on what the Princess says… Crazy, huh?”

Indeed, it was a very intense piece of news that they all weren’t expecting to hear. Elizabeta crossed her arms at this while thinking, “So technically… it’s up to Natalya to decide what happens to them?”

“Pretty much,” Florentyna nodded before closing her phone, “Ah, well. At least now we know those witches have been captured and we don’t have to worry about them. Plus, knowing Natty, I’m sure she’ll make a good decision on what happens.”

“Execution though… that sounds a bit scary,” Tatyana couldn’t help but mutter for a moment while she had been looking down at a bowl of flour, where she had been planning to make some biscuits for all of them, “And that’s just from the Ministry of Magix…”

“I guess it is what it is.” Monika reassured the other by reaching over and giving Tatyana’s shoulder a gentle squeeze, “Don’t worry. I don’t think they’ll execute them because I personally think it’s inhumane, but I do think they’re going to be punished for a very long time…

_…and we hopefully won’t have to worry about them ever again.”_

* * *

Meanwhile, the rest of the group had been in the kitchen, Alfred had taken this as his opportunity to bring Natalya back to bed. If she was going to sleep, it better had not been on the couch, since he knew that the woman would instantaneously find herself with a backache.

He was silent while walking into her room. It still had been dark, with the shades being pulled together to block out any light from the rising sun. The covers of the bed were pulled back, which allowed for him to lay her down flat. Though instead of simply leaving her there to sleep, he had slowly removed his own shoes in favor to climb into bed with her.

Climbing into bed with her, he had pulled the covers up to keep themselves warm, all while allowing Natalya to rest her head on his chest and keeping a secured arm around her.

Alfred took in a relieving breath. After everything that had happened during those last couple of days, he just wanted to be with her. He was happy and glad that she was safe with nothing to worry about, yet, anytime something happened to her, he always found himself wanting to be more closer with her than ever before.

The thing was that with him laying down beside her, Natalya, who hadn’t fallen asleep entirely on the couch, caught on. Feeling his arm around her, this had been her cue to lift her head up where she had leaned forward and placed a kiss against his cheek, before going back to her snuggling position.

“I knew if I pretended to be asleep…” Natalya chuckled with exhaustion in her tone of voice. Her arms were wrapped around his chest all while one leg of hers wrapped around his hips, “I’d get you to come and snuggle with me.”

Hearing these words had Alfred laugh momentarily to himself before his hand slowly began to move up and down her back comfortingly, “You could have just said something, honey.”

“…Mm, no. This was more fun,” Her eyes were still closed at that point. With his hand going up and down her back, it was only making her exhaustion continue to creep up to her and make it worse. It felt so nice, that if there was the option to lay in bed with him all day and snuggle, she wouldn’t hesitate to, “Getting carried all bridal style by your boyfriend… it’s like being carried off by your Prince Charming. Cringey and cliche, it’s great,”

Even when she was being sarcastic with him, he did have a sense of appreciation for her humor despite being tired. Leaning down, Alfred placed a small kiss against her head before sighing and looking up at the ceiling. Now that he was awake, he couldn’t go back to sleep. But he wouldn’t be mad if Natalya fell back asleep, that way he’d have an excuse to be with her, “You sayin’ I should carry you around like that more?”

“If that means I get to snuggle, yes,” Natalya muttered, her face pressed into the crook of his neck while she inhaled his scent, “I feel like I’m in a fever dream…”

“Fever dream?” Another chuckle came from Alfred before he turned to look down at her, “…so say… if you were to wake up every morning like this with me for the rest of your life, would that be a dream come true?”

The question was one that had no hesitation come from Natalya. She hadn’t seen it as a form of a proposal for anything, but instead, she nodded as she looked up at the other with an exhausted smile, “Mhm…” She leaned forward, “…best dream come true… because then I’d have you just for me forever… the one I love more than anything…”

With there being no hesitation, came with her leaning forward and pressing a slow, deep kiss against the other’s lips. Alfred looked at her for a moment with a smile of his own growing to his lips, before he leaned over himself to deepen the exchange. One hand had been against the back of her head, while the other reached over to cup her cheek and gently caress it.

Having her this close… From her scent to the taste of her lips… It was something that Alfred was addicted to. Knowing how their futures together would grow and blossom, he already knew it was all going to be worth it and he had nothing to worry about so long as he continued to do the right things.

The two parted from the kiss, where Alfred looked into her eyes while she moved her face against the palm of his hand. Her lips were soft with each small kiss she had placed against his skin, where at that point, he leaned forward to peck her lips once more.

_“I promise I’ll take care of ya… always.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm submitting this literally at 1:55 AM on 12/22 -- which hey, I'm happy to say that I officially got the final battle chapter done!
> 
> What did you guys think!? This was a VERY long chapter, but I hope that the additional details were at least enough to provide a clear image of each scene that's taking place. No more Shadow Virus or evil Natalya (even though she's fun to write, haha), but also no more Anneliese. That's right - she is back into the future, and who knows when she'll make a presence again in the series!
> 
> (trust me, she will, lol. But it won't be for a WHILE, I'll tell ya!)
> 
> The last chapter of the story will be our epilogue! This epilogue will serve as the transition into the prologue of Part 3 of this story. Which of course, at the end of the epilogue, will give you a whole additional link where you can hop straight into the prologue for part 3. 
> 
> Now you may be asking, "LittlestBook, when is that coming out!?"
> 
> Well, I'm happy to say that I am on winter break, so I can write more! Which means the Epilogue of part 2 will be released later TODAY, 12/22/2020! That's right, I just need to finish a couple of things with it, and it will be up! Keep your eyes out for it.
> 
> Until then, thank you SO, SO much for reading this far! I hope you're enjoying the story as much as I am. Seriously, this is one of my favorite series combos I've done in a long time. I'll see you soon! <3 <3


	15. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With there being no hesitation, came with her leaning forward and pressing a slow, deep kiss against the other’s lips. Alfred looked at her for a moment with a smile of his own growing to his lips, before he leaned over himself to deepen the exchange. One hand had been against the back of her head, while the other reached over to cup her cheek and gently caress it.
> 
> Having her this close… From her scent to the taste of her lips… It was something that Alfred was addicted to. Knowing how their futures together would grow and blossom, he already knew it was all going to be worth it and he had nothing to worry about so long as he continued to do the right things.
> 
> The two parted from the kiss, where Alfred looked into her eyes while she moved her face against the palm of his hand. Her lips were soft with each small kiss she had placed against his skin, where at that point, he leaned forward to peck her lips once more.
> 
> “I promise I’ll take care of ya… always.”

Walking through the Realm of Relix is a life-changing experience. One that only those chosen to enter the portal to travel through space and time - it was a powerful tool that for those who did know of its existence, questioned how it would even be possible to manipulate time. Touching or changing the future or past is something that was extremely dangerous.

For these circumstances, for once, the time hadn’t been altered at all for her return to the decade she was from.

A bright light appeared in front of a staircase. As the transportation sequence took place, the light had dimmed to a hooded figure, who had been holding onto a bag with her belongings.

Anneliese reached over her head to remove the hood that had been protecting her face during her travels. In front of her stood the grand palace of Eraqion - the home she had been born and raised in.

She was finally home.

There was only one thing that lingered in her mind. The main question is if her mission to the past had truly paid off. Had things changed? Or were things back to the way they once were?

The young girl proceeded to run up the staircase entrance of the palace. Straight away, she had been recognized by the guards, who hadn’t expected her presence at all. The guards quickly bowed to the younger girl, before opening the doors to allow her to sprint inside the palace.

Running throughout the hallways, everything looked the same. There were servants walking around who immediately bowed at her presence, guards standing outside the doorways of rooms for lookout… Everything was okay. Even passing her own bedroom, she had noticed every little detail of her room was just the same.

She wasn’t going to her room though. There was a bigger issue at hand, and it was the main reason she wanted to be home in the first place after such an intense mission.

Her footsteps could be heard while sprinting through the hallways. Those who had been working to take care of the royal family did notice her presence but didn’t question this at all. After all, she was the daughter of the King and Queen and known for her mischievous ways from time to time. For her to run around was nothing new to them, and they had dismissed it as normal behavior.

But there was a reason for her sprinting.

Turning into a new corridor passing the throne room, Anneliese had been out of breath that she had placed a hand against the wall for a moment of rest. She remembered growing up, sprinting down the hallways she was never tired… But for the case of being fourteen and not a five year old full of energy, it was a different case.

Though in the midst of her catching her breath, the sounds of a door opening up ahead managed to catch her attention.

With the door opening, a pair of footsteps could be heard walking out of them, followed by another pair of footsteps just behind the first one. The first individual, who had been wearing a beautiful, white gown, stepped out. The gown, which seemed to be meant for night attire, was paired with the individual’s hair being pulled into a low bun with braids down the side of the head. Their bangs were rested on their forehead while they looked around the hallway in confusion.

As for the other individual, who had been much taller than the first figure, stood there in more professional attire than the night-gown the other had been wearing. Though, there was an indicator of a bed-head present.

Anneliese’s eyes widened at the sight of this. The question that she had been wanting to know since arriving back at the palace… She had managed to find them. All it took was less than a matter of seconds for tears to begin welling up in her eyes while she stood there.

Before she knew it, she had cried out to the couple in the hallway.

_“Mama! Daddy!”_

The voice, immediately resulted in both Alfred and Natalya who had stepped out of the room, to look down the end of the hallway to be greeted to the younger girl with her tear-stricken face. Shock formed both of their expressions seeing the child, which to say the least, was immediately concerning seeing the tears covering her face.

At that point, the robe and bag that had been on Anneliese’s frame were dropped to the ground, in favor of where she sprinted down the hallway towards them. There was no hesitation to her behavior, where she had directly tackled herself into Natalya’s arms and clung to her in relief.

For the Queen, she knelt down seeing her child run to her. Her arms had wrapped around the younger girl into a tight hug, squeezing her tightly, “Oh Anneliese…” Natalya reached over to cup her cheeks to get her to look at her, “Why are you crying?… What happened?”

A small shake of her head was given in response to the question. All she could do then and there was hold onto her mother tightly, which naturally for Natalya, she knelt there and comforted the girl by rubbing her back reassuringly. Natalya looked up at Alfred at one point, confusion formed on her expression while the older man had knelt down with an innocent expression on his face since he knew exactly what was going on.

“…I-I’m so glad you’re okay …is… i-is the Legendary crystal fixed?” Were the first words that came from Anneliese after a moment while she breathed slowly.

“Of course I am, ‘Lise. I’m just worried because I don’t like seeing you crying like this.” As this was said, Natalya continued to hold onto the younger girl’s face. Her thumbs had wiped away the tears that had ran down Anneliese’s cheeks before she froze at the question of the Legendary. It was a question she _hadn’t_ been expecting, which had her pause, “Fixed?… ‘Lise, the Legendary has _always_ been fixed.” She slowly turned her head over to Alfred, glaring right at the other who had kept his innocent smile, “Did someone say something?” She paused, “…did _you_ do something—”

“—How about we go get some breakfast?” Alfred immediately interrupted at the question, where at that point, he had helped both Natalya and Anneliese up from the ground. As this was said, the younger girl stared up at her father with confusion, since at that point she thought he had already told her mother what was going on. But based on the confusion that came from Natalya, it was a clear indicator that he hadn’t said anything yet. In the midst of his explanation, it was then that he had begun to lead them down the hallways of the corridor. The entire time, Natalya remained suspicious, keeping her arm around Anneliese while the younger girl seemed to have been continuing to hold onto her, “You mentioned you were hungry, right Nat? We should invite your mothe—”

“—Yes,” Natalya interrupted, “But now I’m not anymore because first I see our child crying her eyes out about something, then secondly I feel like you two know something that I don’t.” She sighed and looked up ahead, “And it’s going to piss me off until one of you spill it.”

The mentioning of her being annoyed slowly resulted in both Alfred and Anneliese to exchange nervous expressions with one another. Her confusion was another sign of confirmation that indeed, the mission had been further successful. The only ones who had known about her time traveling into the past had been only Alfred, as well as the rest of those who were involved: Florentyna, Tatyana, Mei, Elizabeta, Monika, Gilbert, Antonio, and Mathias.

All of the individuals who had known of the truth of what exactly happened. Though for Natalya, this remained a mystery while she continued to glare particularly at her husband to get an answer.

Anneliese rubbed her eyes after a moment, beginning to feel herself calm down now that she was able to see that her mother was okay. After the trauma she had first endured with the shadow virus, all she wanted was things to be back to normal at home. And it was. Everything was back to normal, which for now, she could take as a moment of relief to know that her very first mission was successful.

As she walked with her parents, Anneliese looked over at her father, who simply shook her head at the younger girl to prevent her from saying anything. If they were going to explain anything, it had to be at least during breakfast. Seeing her father’s head shake at her, Anneliese turned back to look at her mother, who continued to hold her close while they walked to the dining room of the palace.

_“…I hope you’re ready for a long story, mama.”_

* * *

Ice shined through the cracks of broken rock. The below-freezing temperatures filled the area as the area radiated in eternal darkness. Only the sounds of roars from creatures that guarded the area could be heard, with the occasional drip of water from an icicle.

A large body of ice stood straight underneath an opening thousands of feet above it. The moonlight, which shined down and glistened over the ice, made its presence known over the body. At first glance, the block of ice had been fully crystallized with no sign of life.

Though within its crevasses, the body of a man had been solidified into place.

The man’s eyes were closed, all while his body remained frozen. Still and frozen, with no sign of life as he remained trapped within the block of ice. His skin was pale, auburn hair fell past his knees, with one of the notable features of his face being a scar over his right cheek. The scar, which looked fresh - but had been over a decade old.

Despite its frozen state, a large smirk had been formed on the man’s lips. A smirk that had been made prior to being frozen under the position that he was in.

A smirk that showed life in him.

And a smirk that lusted for revenge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It feels so bittersweet, but crazy to me to announce that we have finally made it to the end of part 2 of this story! I can't believe how long this was in the making. I've been working on this story since July, and now finally have been able to complete it for you guys! I feel very accomplished, to say the least.
> 
> And now, here's the fun part where we're immediately jumping into part 3 of the story! That's right, instead of leaving you guys all on a cliffhanger for this part, I've actually completed the prologue for part 3 right away. That way, you'll be able to hop right into the next story without having to wait. (Anneliese will come back soon. It will be a long time until then, but I promise the wait will be worth it. Maybe a year - who knows how long it'll take for me to finish part 3, 4, and 5? ;) ) 
> 
> Speaking of, you can find Part 3 of "The Secret of a Lost Fairy" right here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28251042
> 
> I want to take a moment to thank YOU, yes YOU, the reader for reading this far. This is a VERY long story, but I also really love writing stories. I wanted to make it enjoyable, fun, and also nothing short like you see in other fics. I hope you enjoyed it, and I'm looking very forward to keep pumping out content for you. Did you know Part 2 was about 350,000 words??? Crazy, right? 
> 
> Thank you for all the love and support. Your comments are noticed, which I always get super excited to hear what you guys think and how much you love the diversity of characters and personalities. 
> 
> Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! <3 
> 
> This isn't goodbye. Instead, I'll see you over at Part 3! <3

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Thank you for reading "The Secret of the Lost Fairy: Part 2"! 
> 
> As listed in this title, this is PART TWO of the story - this means it is a continuation of the first one.
> 
> If you are just seeing this and have not read Part 1, I HIGHLY recommend that you do to better understand the story that will take place in part two (less confusion for you c: ) 
> 
> You can find Part 1 of the story here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23466742
> 
> As mentioned in the previous title, this was something that I've been wanting to do for years. One of my favorite things is combing plots from either shows or books into the world of Hetalia (such as how people do, Pottertalia/Hetalia x Harry Potter - that sort of ordeal), so I wondered what would that world look like with the story of "Winx Club." Of course, the story will be similar to what is shown on the show, but there will be some major differences when it comes to characters (mainly based on personalities, other plotline changes that I think would take place with these Hetalia characters). This is also sort-of based on Sailor Moon as well (especially in regards to the Princess stuff).
> 
> This will be shown in later chapters as the story progresses. If you were someone who watched Winx Club, while this series is HEAVILY based on it, the later chapters do show a lot of differences in plot - starting off with this prologue as an introduction to Part 2 - continuing where we had last left off!
> 
> This is, of course, an alternative reality/domestic AU of the story. There are some things that are VERY different from the plot of Winx Club (i.e., Natalya, who will serve as our protagonist will have two powers and not just one). There are also original characters (OCs) being used for purposes of plots. (I.e., in the original Winx Club there are witches. While the witches come later, they are all OC based in this version). 
> 
> AGAIN - this is all a work of FICTION. If you do not like the story, you do not have to read. This is JUST for fun, and I have NO ownership of the characters or plot of Hetalia/Winx Club. All characters and the story (despite the changes that I am making to the story), belong to their respected owners. 
> 
> This is rated M for mature audiences due to mature content that is to come later in the story (if you're a huge AmeBel fan, this is for you haha). 
> 
> With that being said, thank you for checking out this work, and I look forward to sharing with you more! :)
> 
> Chapter 1 of Part 2 will be released on 07/25/2020 ! Stay tuned and thank you again! <3
> 
> ~LittlestBook


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